Raising Dawn
by DianneRose2016
Summary: Challenge Response. Full summary inside. Dawn is placed in a foster home 3 days after Buffy's death. Spike has no choice, but to adopt her. 13 months later Willow is finally able to bring Buffy back only for her to find out they don't know where her sister is. They track the man down and find out it's Spike. Buffy refuses to leave and Spike does everything he can for her.
1. Chapter 1

Challenge Response fic requested by tempestt. What if it took Willow much longer to find a resurrection spell? After Buffy dies, the proper authorities attempt to contact Hank to take in Dawn, but he's out of the country permanently. When child services take Dawn into foster care, Spike tries to get Giles to adopt her, but the heartbroken Watcher can't stand the sight of the young girl who he blames for the death of his slayer. He returns to England to try and go on with his life. While in foster care, Willow and Xander don't give a second thought to Dawn, leaving only Spike to visit her. Dawn's foster situation isn't bad, but her anger and sorrow causes her to act out, and she starts getting bounced around.

Swallowing his pride, Spike goes to Angel. The vampire refuses to adopt Dawn on the grounds that it's better for her to have a normal life away from all the chaos of the supernatural. Pissed Spike goes to Wolfram and Hart, liquidating some previously ignored assets, and pays to have a solid identity created as William Summers, Hanks younger brother and Dawn's uncle. Child services is more than happy to relinquish Dawn's care to him. Flushed with his new assets, Spike is able to move with Dawn to somewhere other than Sunnydale, which Spike feels is too dangerous for the young girl to live. Never able to come to terms with her friend's death, Willow has been searching nonstop for a way to resurrect Buffy. A year or so later, Willow finds what she's looking for and convinces Xander to help her cast the spell.

They resurrect Buffy. The slayer is a little out of it, and while she's sleeping it off, the scoobs contact Giles and Angel. Everyone shows up, but Buffy's only got one question: "Where's Dawn?" The answer is no one knows. They don't have a clue. The last they saw of her was when she was being taken into custody by child services. Buffy loses her shit when she finds out that both Giles and Angel refused custody of Dawn. Buffy is furious, and Willow ends up having to hack child services' records, only to find out that she's been legally adopted by William Summers and his current address. When they show up on William's doorstep, they are appalled to find out its Spike. Despite living with a vampire, Dawn is healthy and thriving. She's no longer acting out, she's getting regular therapy, she's at the top of her class, and is fast-tracked for college. Although, she's thrilled to have her big sister back, she refuses to leave with Buffy. Buffy can't force Dawn, and she can't file for guardianship of her sister because she's legally dead. Buffy accepts Spike's invitation to live with them, but every time she treats him badly Dawn smacks her down hard. What does Buffy do when she realizes the one person who understood, that even in death, her implicit wish was for Dawn to be cared for, was adhered to by the one person who should have left her sister behind without a second look?

A/N: I've decided to put my own slight twist on how Spike ends up adopting Dawn. The result is the same, but I've always found it weird that Spike, a vampire, would be allowed to take on a human child. Demon and humans don't tend to get along so I find it hard to believe that Spike didn't take crap from the demon community for it. So I've added that little fun twist to this.

Story Warnings: Sexual situations, violence and swearing

Chapter 1

 **Day 400 After Buffy's Death- Billings, Montana**

Spike stood there in his kitchen making pancakes for Dawn. It had been six months since they had started to live together. Spike still couldn't believe that his unlife had turned out this way. Four hundred days ago he was standing at the bottom of the Slayer's stairs in her house making a promise to protect Dawn until the end of the world. Never had he ever expected to be doing it alone. That, that moment would be the last time Spike every spoke to Buffy alone. That the night would bring her death. Now, here they were four hundred days later and his life had changed completely. Changed in ways that Spike had never imagined, all off of a promise he made to the woman he loved, loves even to this day. Spike still couldn't believe the first seven months after Buffy's death. It had been the hardest seven months of his entire existence. It didn't even take three days before Buffy's beloved friends, who claimed to be her family, showed their true colours. Spike would never forget those months.

 _Flashback_

 _With Buffy's death brought the problem of all of the bills and taking care of Dawn. Willow had sat down to try and figure out a way to pay off all the the debt from Joyce's hospital stay and funeral along with all of the monthly bills. Only she couldn't find a solution. Her and Tara were both in College, they had their own student debt to worry about, plus having to try and attend college. There was just no way they would be able to do anything regarding the bills. Even if they sold the house there was nowhere for Dawn to go. Finally everyone, minus Dawn and Spike, had agreed to report Buffy's death and with it would take care of all the outstanding debt. They would still need to sell the house, but they could take their time in packing everything up and deciding what to do with everything. Buffy had a small life insurance policy from Hank that Willow figured would work to pay the mortgage for now. With Buffy's death reported Willow and Tara moved in to try and be there for Dawn, but the next day a knock on the door came. Child Services had received the report of Buffy's death and took Dawn into their custody. It was an upset to everyone, especially Dawn who was supposed to go to her father Hank. With no legal standing the others had no choice, but to let Dawn go with the Social Worker and taken into their custody. Only Hank didn't want Dawn and as a result she ended up in a foster home. The first of many._

 _It was two weeks after Buffy's death did Spike finally feel healed enough to make it past the cemetery. Spike hadn't seen Dawn in almost two weeks and he was worried about her. Even if he wanted to spend the morning greeting the sun, Spike had made a promise and he wasn't about it break it now. Spike headed for the house where he received the shock of a lifetime._

 _"What do you mean she's not here?" Spike asked with anger at the red headed witch._

 _"We reported Buffy's death. We had to. The debt and the bills were too much for us. With Buffy's death reported the debt was gone and the bills became manageable with Buffy's life insurance policy from her father. We didn't know Child Services would be called." Willow explained._

 _"What did you think was gonna happen? The Bit's mom and guardian were dead. What did you expect? Why didn't you research it or ask someone about it? The poor Bit is in foster care after watching her Big Sis take a swan dive off a tower to save her life. Not even months after losing her Mum. What are you doin' to get her back?" Spike asked with anger rolling off of him._

 _"There's nothing we can do. We don't have guardianship over her."_

 _"But you could move to adopt her or become a foster parent to her."_

 _"I can't do that Spike. None of us can. Tara and_ _me_ _are in a gay relationship for starters they would never allow us to foster or adopt anyone. Besides we don't have the money to do that. We're both still in College."_

 _"It's the twenty-first century_ _bein'_ _gay is nothin' anymore. And one of you could drop out and get a job so you could support her. Instead of leavin' her in who knows where. She could get abused in those homes." Spike argued back._

 _"I'm sorry Spike, but we can't do anything for Dawn. Tara and_ _me_ _just aren't ready for that. All we can do is be there for her and visit her."_

 _"Some mate you are. The Slayer's little sis is in foster care and you don't give a bloody damn. You just let her get ripped right out of her home. The only one she's ever known and put in with strangers that could hurt her."_

 _"We did our best. Buffy is gone. All we can do is live our lives now."_

 _"You're_ _pathetic." Spike said before he turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him,_

 _Spike couldn't believe that Buffy's own friends wouldn't go out on a limb to take care of her sister. He understood that Tara and Willow were young still, but that doesn't matter. Back in his age girls as young as Dawn were having their own children and raising a family. Dawn was fifteen it wasn't like she needed much looking_ _after_ _to begin with. She just needed someone there with her to make sure she was alright and the bills were paid. It wasn't much trouble to do at all. Spike headed straight over to Giles' place to demand what the hell he was going to do about all of this. Only to be shocked once again._

 _"I can't adopt her_ _Spike." Giles said with hurt in his voice._

 _"Why the bloody Hell not? She's your Slayer's kid sister."_

 _"Only she's not. She's a mystical key that is the reason my Slayer is dead. And you can tell me that is not fair to Dawn all you want, you would not be telling me something I haven't already told myself. Still, I can't bare the thought of seeing her every day. Seeing her face and blaming her. Hating her for existing and still being here while my Slayer is_ _in_ _the ground."_

 _"Bloody coward. She would want you to look after the Bit. She would be expecting you and her mates to be. Only you all are slapping her in the face. Spitting on her grave. How can you say you love her when you won't even do this for her?" Spike said with anger and disgust dripping from his voice._

 _"By remembering she was never supposed to be here to begin with. I told Buffy to kill Dawn and she refused. She is gone and right or wrong, I blame Dawn for that as much as I blame Glory. So no Spike I will not adopt Dawn. She only has three years left before the system will release her. She will be fine." Giles said with no fight in him as he sat there on his couch with a bottle of brandy on the table and a glass in his hand._

 _"You lot should be ashamed of yourselves. And you all say I have no soul."_

 _Spike turned and left feeling even angrier than he had before. He couldn't remember a time when he was this filled with rage and sadness at the same time. He knew it would be pointless to go and speak to Xander and Anya, they clearly didn't care any more than the others did. With no choice left Spike went to track down Dawn. Thankful for his vampire senses he was able to track her scent down to this small house on the other side of town. The house was in decent shape and from what Spike could hear there was five different heartbeats inside. Spike didn't know how many rooms this house had, but he couldn't imagine there were five bedrooms. If he had to guess there was at most three and maybe a basement. It was a large step down from the home that Joyce had wanted for her daughters to be living in. Spike moved closer and stayed to the shadows. He couldn't just go up and knock on the door. These people didn't know him and he didn't look like someone a parent would want to have a fifteen year old girl around. Spike used his vampire hearing as he walked around the outside of the house trying to pick up Dawn's voice or a stronger scent from her. Spike could hear some young kiddies crying a woman trying to get them to calm down. He didn't sense an older male, just two young ones no older than eight in the house. Spike was around the back of the house now when he noticed Dawn's presence even more. He looked up and saw that there was a small window at the top of the house that looked like an attic of some sorts. Right outside the window was a large oak tree that Spike could climb later if he needed it. Spike looked around for a few small rocks and picked them up. He never thought he would ever have to do this, but he threw the rocks, being careful of his strength against the window. After the third rock Dawn's face appeared in the window._

 _Dawn looked down and saw Spike standing in the backyard. She gave him a small sad smile as she opened the window and stuck her head out._

 _"Can you come out?" Spike whispered softly, but loud enough that Dawn would be able to hear._

 _Dawn pointed to the tree and Spike gave a nod. He went over to it as Dawn climbed out the window and over to a tree branch. Spike stood down there watching her, ready to catch her should she lose her footing. Dawn had no problem climbing down and Spike knew this wasn't her first tree climb escape experience. Once her feet touched the ground Dawn wrapped her arms around Spike's waist and buried her head into his chest. The tears were instant and Spike wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him._

 _"It's okay Lil Bit. It's okay."_

 _Spike continued to hold her as she cried into his chest for the next ten minutes. When the tears had finally stopped and Dawn's breathing was no long_ _hitchy_ _Dawn pulled back and Spike wiped her cheeks._

 _"I wanna go_ _home." Dawn said sadly._

 _"I know you do Niblet. I wanna take you home, but I can't."_

 _"Why not? You're a vampire. You could just take me away." Dawn asked with anger slowly building up in her._

 _"And then what? Bit, you'll be reported as missing. Your picture will be plastered all over the news and all across the country. You won't be able to step foot outside. That's no life for a girl to have. If I thought there was a way to make that possible I would do it in a heartbeat. It's no life for you to have. Not one Big Sis would have wanted you to have."_

 _"But this is? I'm living with strangers."_

 _"I know Bit. I'm workin' on tryin' to figure out how to get you out of here and with someone you know."_

 _"What about the others? Willow or Giles?"_

 _"I tried they, they weren't up for it yet. I'm gonna try to figure this out for ya Bit. It might just take some time yet."_

 _"They don't want_ _me_ _do they? They hate me. They blame me for Buffy's death."_

 _"No Bit."_

 _"Yes they do. That's why I'm here with strangers living in a small attic compared to in my room back home. And they should blame me and hate me. It's my fault she's dead. I'm not even supposed to exist. I'm just this ball of energy so who cares what happens to me or where I live?" Dawn said with her voice filled with self-hatred._

 _"Stop it right there. Now you listen to me. Your Big Sis made her choice to save you and this world. It's not your fault some Hell Bitch decided to open a portal to Hell. It's not your fault that a bunch of monks gave you life. Ball of energy or not, you are a teenage girl and you deserve the life that has been given to you. I don't hate you. I don't blame you and I'm not going to let you blame or hate yourself either."_

 _"I'm in foster care Spike. I don't even know these people. Sure they seem nice, but for how long? Six kids live here. I'm the oldest. I have to share the attic, which is the smaller than my room back home, with a_ _twelve year old_ _girl. There's no privacy." Dawn complained._

 _"I know it's hard Bit. It'll take some time for you to adjust. I'm gonna try and figure a way out for you. Till then I'll come by at night to check in on you. Just hold on okay?"_

 _"Ya. Not like I have a choice."_

 _"How's school_ _goin?"_

 _"Stupid, but_ _whatever." Dawn said with a shrug._

 _"It's been a hard year I know, but you need to try in school. This place is different, but it might not be so bad for a little while. At least until I figure somethin' out for you. She died so you could live, so live Bit. Don't let it be for nothing."_ _  
_

_"I'll try, but this sucks Spike. It_ _suchs_ _a lot." Dawn said with pain in her voice._ _  
_

_"I know. I miss her too." Spike said as he pulled Dawn in for another hug._

 __ _"How are you? You looked pretty beat up at her funeral."_

 __ _"Bones all healed. Don't have to worry about old Spike Bit. You better head back inside. Woman's lookin' for you."_

 __ _"Joanne. She had to ask me my name three times since being here. I'm supposed to do the dishes tonight." Dawn said as she pulled back._

 __ _"Better head in then. No reason to upset the woman she's got enough on her plate with all those other kiddies. Try not to make her life hell."_

 __ _"Ya. When will I see you again?"_

 __ _"I'll be back tomorrow night._ _i_ _should patrol now. Don't_ _think any_ _of your mates have been doin' it. Don't want you gettin' hurt on your way home from school by something nasty."_

 __ _"Slayer free Hellmouth. It won't be long before they completely take over."_

 __ _"Maybe the Watcher has an idea. Don't know. Do my part for now until somethin' else happens. Be safe Sweet Bit."_

 __ _"You too. I'll see ya tomorrow."_

 __ _"Tomorrow promise."_ __

_Spike stayed while Dawn headed back up the tree and into her new room. Spike went and hid in the shadows until he felt everyone fall asleep that night. Afterwards he made his way through the cemeteries to take down whatever vampire or demon was lurking around. That's how the routine went for the next month, but then it changed on them once again. Dawn got removed from that foster home and placed in another one. She had been acting out, swearing, refusing to go to school, refusing to help out in the house. After a month of having a rebellious and moody teenager Joanne just couldn't do it any longer. Spike couldn't hold that against her. She was raising five other children besides Dawn, all between the ages of five to twelve. It wasn't an easy task and Spike couldn't blame the woman for not having more patience with Dawn. The next foster home made Dawn worse and didn't last long. Dawn was there for three weeks, her and four other children all under the age of twelve. An unscheduled visit from Dawn's Social Worker uncovered that both the foster parents were neglectful to the children. Not only did they rarely get fed, but they were all living in a storage room the size of a jail cell. They were forced to cook, clean and do all of the chores. If they failed to do so they were slapped and punched for their disobedience. Spike was furious when he found out. On the rare time he had been able to see Dawn during those three weeks, she hadn't told him she was being hurt. Apparently, she didn't feel like she should burden him with it and that she deserved it for her sister's death._

 __ _After that Dawn got worse and worse. Within the first seven months of Buffy's death Dawn had been in eight foster homes, brought home by the cops for underage drinking, drunken disorderly, and stealing, expelled from school and caught smoking. She was now being placed in a group home for delinquent juveniles. From what Spike had heard from Dawn, they were all in a large room sleeping on cots. The girls were kept in one room and the males in another. Within Dawn's room there were fifteen of them all between the ages of twelve and seventeen. Dawn had been placed there three days ago. She was supposed to be in school, but considering she was expelled from the only school in town she was at home. She had a set routine and chore list that she was expected to complete each day. If she did not complete it and did not be in the house by five o'clock each night she would be arrested and taken to a Juvenile Hall, where she would be locked up in a cell for the next three years until she was eighteen and no longer the State's problem. With how dire the situation had become Spike went to speak with the Scoobies, but just like before they weren't going to stick their necks out for Dawn._

 _During the past seven_ _months_ _Spike was the only one to go and see Dawn. He made sure he saw her every night if she could get out. Spike was also the only one patrolling at night. The others had checked out and went back to focusing on their own life. Willow and Tara were still living in Buffy's house, using her life insurance to pay the bills. Money that should_ _had_ _gone to Dawn. They were living in that big house, not paying any of the bills and going to college. They could have easily had Dawn living with them and then she wouldn't be in some delinquent group home. The situation is what brought Spike to the one place he swore he would never go back to. With no_ _choice_ _Spike went to speak with Angel. Spike was hoping that Angel would be willing to take Dawn and give her a better life. Spike did not want to be here. This was the last place he wanted to be, but he gave his word to Buffy that he would protect and take care of Dawn should she die and this is exactly what he was going to do._

 _Spike walked inside the hotel and he wasn't surprised to see everyone there in the lobby. None of them looked pleased, especially Angel._

 _"You looking to die_ _Spike." Angel said with a deep hatred in his voice._

 _"Not here for me. I need to talk to you about Dawn. I don't wanna be here_ _anymore_ _than you want me here. But it's important, life or death and all that. Five minutes of your time and I'll be gone." Spike said calmly, but with exhaustion in his voice. He was tired. He was tired from worry and stress about Dawn while keeping a Hellmouth under control._

 _"You got five minutes before I dust_ _you." Angel said before he turned and headed for his office. He knew Spike would follow, he wasn't in a bargaining position._

 _Spike followed Angel without complaint or looking at the others. He was here to beg Angel for a huge_ _favour. Spike knew this would be painful on many different levels. Spike walked into Angel's office and the first thing that happened was a hard right hook across his face. The sudden punch sent Spike into the wall as stars danced in front of his eyes._

 _"You got some nerve coming here Spike after what you pulled the last time. I should chain you up right now and make you beg for death."_

 _"I'm here for Dawn, she's in trouble. You want to do that_ _after, than_ _fine. It's her I care about." Spike said as he stood back up._

 _"What about her?" Angel asked not really caring at all._

 _"She's been put into foster care. Seven months ago she was taken away and put in the first house. She's been in eight of them now, one was abusive. She's gone downhill. Been arrested a few times for drinkin' and stealin'. She's been expelled from the school. Now she's livin' in a delinquent group home with fifteen other girls in the same room. She screws up again and she'll be in kiddie prison for three years." Spike explained._

 _"And that's terrible for her to go through, but that doesn't explain why you're here Spike."_

 _"The others won't help her. They haven't even seen her since she was taken away. They won't be foster parents for her or adopt her. Not even the Watcher. They all blame her for Buffy's death. She blames herself. Was hopin' you would take her. Give her a chance at a better life."_

 _Angel let out a sigh before he spoke. "I can't do that Spike. She deserves a normal life. Not being_ _around_ _a vampire and demons and all of this death and drama that we surround ourselves in. She deserves better than that."_

 _"Better? She's got one foot_ _inside_ _a prison right now. She's got no school to go to. She's got no friends, no family. On top of it all, she blames the Slayer's death on herself. She's destroyin' her life and you could help her with it. Better here than in kiddie jail." Spike said letting his annoyance and anger seep into his voice._

 _He couldn't understand why all of these people who claimed to love Buffy and be here friends and family were letting Dawn blow in the wind._

 _"I'm a vampire, I can't raise a human girl Spike. You know that." Angel said with annoyance in his voice._

 _"Why the bloody hell not? You're already livin' like a human. Livin' with them and running a business, livin' in this place. You help the helpless, well that's her. You're already goin' against everything a vampire is supposed to stand for. Goin' against the nature like this. What's one more human livin' here?"_

 _"The fact that it does go against everything in me. Even with my_ _soul_ _I can only go against my nature so far Spike, you know that. I can't adopt a human child."_

 _"She's the sister of Buffy. You know the woman you claimed to love more than anythin' in this world. How the Hell can you not take her in?"_

 _"I love Buffy with everything in me, but this goes against everything in me. Everything in you. It's why you're here trying to get me to take her instead of doing it yourself. It's never been done. No vampire can go completely against the demon's nature. Having the others here is hard enough, but they are not children. It's different and you know it."_

 _"What about one of them then?"_

 _"They won't. They didn't know Buffy well enough, not to take on a child. I'd help if I could, but I can't. Neither can 's nothing you can do Spike. Dawn can only save herself. Not everyone makes it."_

 _"Well_ _that's a pretty cold way to talk about a_ _fifteen year old_ _girl. The Slayer's girl."_

 _"There's nothing I can do. You've wasted your time coming here Spike. You've wasted mine. Get the hell out of here before I give you more than just a punch." Angel said clearly done with this conversation._

 _"You tortured me for twenty years practically nonstop. You deserved a lot more than those couple of hours and you know it." Spike said before he turned and left the office._

 _Angel didn't say anything to that. He knew that Spike had a point and if it had come down to it, Angel wouldn't have tortured Spike tonight. Spike did owe him one, more than one. Spike headed out of the hotel without saying anything to the others. He got into his car and drove off. Spike drove for a few minutes until he had to pull off to try and get his body under control. Spike put his head down on the steering wheel as he fought to get his body and emotions under control. He wanted to help Dawn. He didn't want her to end up in_ _Juvi. He wanted to give her a good life, the life she deserves._

 _The problem was it did go against his nature. The demon in him was screaming out at him for even considering having Dawn in his life. It was one thing to help the Slayer and kill other demons. Killing demons happened all the time and killing is killing to a demon. Adopting a human child and playing human was something completely different. It would cause physical pain to the demon in him. He would be not only thrown out of the demon community, but made an exile. He couldn't work for them. He would lose all respect from them. He would lose his Master Vampire status. In their eyes he would be nothing more than a slave, a disgrace. Spike would be opening himself up to other Master Vampires looking to lay claim on him. Master Vampires that would love nothing more than to make him their slave for all eternity. Spike loved Dawn like a little sister. He loved Buffy even in her death, he loved her with everything in him. He still couldn't even look at another woman without feeling like he was cheating on her. To take Dawn, would mean he had to give up everything. To be living in pain for months until his demon accepted its fate and submitted. He would have to become human in the sense of the word. Raise a human child, take on a job, live in a house, pay bills properly. It went against everything in him and his demon was roaring out in outrage._

 _"You bloody bitch. You had to die. You couldn't have just let that bastard be killed and you could be the one raisin' her._ _Oh_ _you had no idea just what that promise would do to me. What you were really askin'."_

 _Spike let out a shaky breath before he sat up and put his car back_ _onto_ _the road. He had to do this. He couldn't break his promise to the woman he loved and he couldn't abandon Dawn to this life. He was love's bitch and he was about to do something even more suicidal than greeting the sun or a pointy wooden object. All Spike could do was hope that it would be enough. To do this though he needed some help so he made his way over to the one place he knew would be able to get him what he needed._

 _Spike parked and headed inside Wolfram and Hart. It was known as the law firm for the underworld and that was exactly what Spike needed. He had to liquidate some assets from when he was human if he wanted to be able to adopt Dawn and give her a better life. He would need to take her out of Sunnydale. He would need to get out of Sunnydale almost instantly. He needed to be as far away from a Hellmouth as you could get. His only chance would be to stay low and blend in. If there was one thing Spike knew, it was how to survive. Spike took the elevator up to the right floor and got out. He went over to the lady working the receptionist desk and when she looked up he spoke._

 _"Need to see a lawyer about liquefying some assets."_

 _"Of course. Do you have an appointment?"_

 _"Naw, but kinda need it_ _tonight_ _pet."_

 _"I'm sorry Sir, but we only see clients with appointments."_

 _"That's alright Mandy. We have royalty in our presence." A woman said._

 _Spike turned around to see a brunette woman coming out of a very fancy office to the left of him._

 _"I'm sorry Ms. Morgan, I didn't know." Mandy automatically_ _apologised._

 _"That's quite alright Mandy. Mr. Spike, if you would please join me. I'm sure I can help you with what you seek."_

 _Spike gave a nod and headed into the office._

 _"Mandy, I don't want to be_ _disturbed." Lilah said before she closed the door and made her way over to her desk._

 _"Please make yourself comfortable. Is there something I can get for you to drink? We have many different kinds of blood on hand."_

 _"Naw, just_ _business." Spike said afraid that_ _anymore_ _time here and he would change his mind and run screaming from here._

 _"Very well. I'm Lilah Morgan, I run the firm. How can I help_ _you_ _Mr. Spike?" Lilah asked as she sat down in her chair._

 _Spike didn't sit. He was too nervous and wound up with his decision._

 _"Got some assets from_ _bein'_ _human that I need to cash in on. Word in the underground is that you're the people I should see."_

 _"I can easily do that for you. All I need is the information."_

 _Spike relaid the information for a few stocks that he knew had grown insanely over the century, along with some Foundation money, inheritance and old family accounts that were kept open. With it all he and Dawn would have a few million they could sit on. Spike knew he would need to get a job to make it look good with social workers and to play the part right. There was no going half-way on this unfortunately. Lilah had her computer up and running and within thirty minutes she had everything that Spike needed transferred into a new bank account._

 _"Is there anything else I can do for you? You must have some need for this money all of a sudden. I can help you with anything from purchasing land, a home, anything really. We do it all here."_

 _"So I've heard. Not lookin' to have my personal life gossiped about though." Spike said with a guarded tone._

 _"You became my client the second you walked through those doors. There's no gossip within this room. Everything you say to me stays with me. Not even an electronic imprint will be made. Nothing you say will be traced back to you. I can personally guarantee you that Mr. Spike. It's why we deal with the best of the best. I can help you with anything. Even getting that chip out of your brain."_

 _"You can do that?" Spike asked very_ _interested_ _in that tidbit. It would help him protect Dawn better if he could defend himself against humans. Not to mention should someone like the Initiative ever showed back up._

 _"We could have it removed within the hour. We have top level surgeons here. You wouldn't be the first vampire to see us_ _to have_ _it removed. So you see we can do anything for you. Sit down, tell me what you need and I'll make it happen."_

 _"Why would you do that?" Spike asked still guarded You don't get something without paying for it. Spike knew that._

 _"Because you are royalty. Within the demon_ _world_ _your blood is King."_

 _"Not for long it won't_ _be." Spike said with a small shake of his head._

 _"Why not? You planning on doing something stupid?" Lilah asked with a smirk._

 _"Life-altering stupid. I'm gonna adopt a human girl. You run in the demon world, you know what that will do to me and my status." Spike said, saying it for the first time_ _outloud._

 _Lilah sat back in her chair clearly shocked. That was not something she ever expected for Spike to say, especially with his ranking within the demon world. He was a prince in a sense. No one dared to go after him, because of how high above he was. He was becoming nothing all for a human. Lilah was shocked, but also very interested._

 _"Sit down, we have much to discuss."_

 _Spike let out a sigh before he sat down._

 _"Now, I won't try and talk you out of it. You have to love this girl with everything in you for you to even entertain the idea of adopting her. Your mind is set and I can respect that. Not many human males would do what you are about to do and there has never been a demon or vampire to ever do it. That takes guts and a lot of courage." Lilah said before she got up and went over to a filing cabinet she opened a few drawers and pulled out some documents before she went back over and sat down as Spike spoke._

 _"Courage or bloody daft. She's fifteen and spent seven months bouncin' around foster homes. She was a good kid, but then she lost her Mum and Big Sis within months apart. Her own father wants_ _nothin'_ _to do with her. She's gotten herself into trouble and now she's one mistake away from bein' in_ _Juvi. Literally. She's already in a group home for delinquents."_

 _"Poor girl. How did you come to her?"_

 _"She was the Slayer's sister. After I got my chip things happened and I ended up fallin' in love with the Slayer. The night she died, she asked me to protect her sis and I promised I would. It's time to live up to that."_

 _"You never break a promise." Lilah easily stated._

 _"Never once. Not gonna start now. So not really valuable to you as a client. Your clients will probably be askin' you where I am."_

 _"Now Mr. Spike, we have many different types of clients. Some innocent and some not. You are still very much valuable to me and my firm. Care to make a deal?"_

 _"And what sort of deal would that be Pet?" Spike asked just looking to see what she had to say, It couldn't hurt after all._

 _"I'll secure the adoption for you by sunrise. You'll be able to show the papers to Social Services and she'll be handed right over to you by lunchtime. I'll help you buy a house, get schools set up for her. I will have that chip removed from your_ _head,_ _because if it is anything like the others it will start to malfunction at some point in the future and you'll die from it. You are no use to me dead. Finally, I'll make it so that sunlight is no longer a problem for you. All of which can be done by morning easily. We're very powerful here and we know how to get things done. You will become my personal client and your location will remain hidden, protecting you from the demon community or eighty percent of it at least."_

 _"And this is where you tell me I have to kill a village full of people or some other rot."_

 _"No killing of people. But on the occasion, I will need to call upon you to take out a dangerous client or provide extra protection during an event. You could be sent all over the world, but I will make sure it is not for more than a day or so and not very often. Probably once every month, maybe more should your level of skills be needed. You will be paid for the work you do of course. My work for you tonight is my securing your skills and loyalty for five years. At the end of the_ _five year_ _term_ _you may choose to walk away and do so freely without any consequences. You may also choose to sign a new contract at that point as well. How does that_ _sound_ _Mr. Spike?"_

 _"Too good to be true."_

 _"It's all very up front. It will be in a legal binding contract that not even I would be able to break. We both sign in blood to seal it so we both keep our words. Like I said you are very valuable to my firm. I would be a fool to let you get away."_

 _"And all of this can happen by sunrise?"_

 _"Just need to make a few calls. It's that simple here. Realistically, you are going to adopt this girl you might as well have the best chance possible for you both to survive. That's all I'm offering to_ _you_ _Mr. Spike. That chance for you both to survive. Why not take the help?"_

 _Spike let out a sigh as he thought this through. The problem was he couldn't find a flaw in it. It would be easy enough to go to a few places in the next five years and take care of business. As long as he didn't kill a human he should be fine. It was the best offer Spike was ever going to get and it would allow him to raise Dawn properly and give her the life she deserved._

 _"Write it_ _up." Spike said after a moment._

 _"You've made a wise decision Mr. Spike. It'll take me a few moments to get the contract up. I'll make some calls to have the lab ready for you. Would you like human blood or animal blood for the surgery?"_

 _"Better make it animal blood."_

 _Lilah picked up her phone and spoke to Mandy to bring up some otter blood for Spike. Spike was surprised that they had otter blood. Normally all you could get was_ _pig._

 _"Otter? Where the hell did you get that? All they got at the_ _butchers_ _is_ _pig."_

 _"We don't go to the butchers. Any blood can be ordered and imported overnight. I'll give you our contact if you wish. He has everything, otter, deer, veal, bear, lion, tiger, anything really. Our clients seem to really like the otter."_

 _"Bloody hell. It's like another world in here."_

 _"It's a better world compared to what you have been living_ _in." Lilah said as she put the finishing touches on the contract before picking up the phone and making the calls to get everything ready. With that_ _done_ _Mandy walked into the office and handed Spike the warmed up blood._

 _"Ta_ _Pet." Spike said as he took the mug._

 _Spike took a drink and he couldn't believe how good it tasted. He was used to the garbage from the butcher's. This tasted like fine wine to him._

 _"Oh_ _that is good."_

 _Lilah gave him a smile as she put the contract down._

 _"This goes over everything we just discussed. I didn't add any fine print. It's a complete standard contract between us. Read over it, if you have any questions just ask."_

 _Spike took the contract and read_ _over_ _it. He was thankful for his University education, as that made it easier for him to understand it all. Sure enough, it was straightforward and there were no hidden twists within it. Spike signed it before handing it back and Lilah signed it as well._

 _"Now, Mandy will take you down to the lab to have your chip removed._ _Afterwards, you will be escorted to our magic lab to have your sunlight allergy handled. In the meantime, I will be here working on all the documents that you will need for the adoption and_ _looking_ _for a home for you. Is there an area you were thinking of?"_

 _"Not off the top of my head. Just some place not high in a demon community."_

 _"I'll work on that and see if I can find something that will work for you. You'll be gone for about an hour for both procedures, more than enough time for me to have everything complete on my end."_

 _"Ta Luv."_

 _Spike got up and followed Mandy out of the room and through the halls. When they were finally in the lab Mandy went back to her desk leaving Spike with the doctors. Spike wasn't too sure about this. He would have his brain open to them and there was no telling what they would do to him once they had him. His guardedness must have shown on his face as the one nurse spoke._

 _"Not to worry. Ms. Morgan has informed us that you are a very high valued asset. We are only going to remove that chip. You can watch on the monitors the whole time. You'll see that nothing else will happen."_

 _"Right, let's just get this over with_ _then." Spike said not really happy about having his brain cut into again, but it would be worth it if he could defend himself again._

 _Spike went into a small operating room. He removed his jacket and laid down on the bed like he was told. The doctor came over to him and informed Spike that he was just going to numb Spike's head so he wouldn't feel anything they were doing. Spike made sure he kept his eyes locked on the monitor so he could see everything that was going on. Forty minutes later the chip was removed and nothing else was placed inside his head. Spike knew he would have one hell of a headache for a couple of days, but some decent blood into him would take care of that. With that procedure done Spike was once again escorted by Mandy to the next step, getting him immune to sunlight. Spike was looking forward to that one. He knew it would involve magic of some sorts, but at least he would be able to be outside once again._

 _"So how does this work?" Spike asked once he was in the room._

 _"We will take a piece of your clothing or_ _jewellery_ _and place an enhanced spell on it. As long as that article is on you when you go outside during the day you will be protected." The_ _Head Mage_ _answered._

 _"And could say a powerful red headed witch cancel out the spell and leave me to dust in the wind?"_

 _"Once the spell is placed, no spell shall remove it. Not even us. Do you have an article that you will have on you for the spell?"_

 _Spike thought about it for a moment. He couldn't really use his_ _coat,_ _because he wouldn't be able to wear it much. That left_ _jewellery. He didn't want another_ _ring_ _though, too easy to lose or have someone grab it from him. He_ _learnt_ _that the hard way. That left the thin gold chain around his neck. Spike removed the necklace and handed it over. The Mage gave a nod and went over to the other two witches in the room and they began to prepare the spell. Spike was looking forward to testing this thing out tomorrow morning. With the chip gone that was one thing off the list, this would make it two._ _Afterwards_ _it was logistics and paperwork before he could head back to Sunnydale and get Dawn._

 _It was twenty minutes later and Spike was back in Lilah's office with his now enhanced necklace on his neck once again. Lilah gave Spike a warm smile as he came in and sat down. She handed him a mug of fresh otter blood knowing that he would need it after the surgery._

 _"How's the head feeling?"_

 _"Poundin', but it feels good to have that out. Preciate not havin' one of your docs put somethin' else in it."_

 _"That wouldn't inspire trust between us_ _now_ _would it._ _Besides_ _you are too powerful to have on a leash. As long as I keep my word then I know you will. And speaking of my word, here_ _is_ _the documents that clear you to adopt Dawn. It is already signed off by a family court judge. You just need to show this to the social worker. Here is also your new identification, William Summers. You are Hank's younger half-brother. You have spent the last few years in London and only now have heard of your niece's death. Along with you identification, I've created a work history for you. You were an English University Professor in England. Everything is in here for you to go over for any future questions."_

 _"Preciate_ _it." Spike said as he took the file._

 _"Now on to where you will be living. You need a place with no demon community or ties to the demon community, but also still has it's own vampires and demons for you to hunt at night when the need comes. It needs to be larger than Sunnydale for you to blend in, but also provide you with enough isolation. Somewhere with good schools for Dawn and it's own University and College for you to get employment."_

 _"Sounds good, but where the Hell would that be?"_

 _"Ever been to Montana Mr. Spike?" Lilah asked with a smirk._

 _"Can't say I have_ _pet."_

 _"Billings, Montana will be your new home." Lilah turned the computer screen so Spike could see it as she had some information up. "Population is just over a hundred thousand. Lots of places for Dawn to explore, go to school and even post-secondary. There are also six private schools well within your limit before employment. We have a contact with Montana State University, they are looking for a new English Professor and it would be tenure, so you would never have to worry about losing your job. Starting salary is a hundred grand with full health benefits and a five percent raise every year. The job can be yours by tomorrow night easily enough. There are also numerous ranches that are for sale. Some more fancier than others. The ranches are on the outskirts in a sense so it would give you both enough privacy and some land for you to have. One even comes with five horses and a barn. What do you think?"_

 _"Think I could get used to Montana. What's the price range_ _on_ _these houses?"_

 _"Some go for half a million up to a million. This one caught my eye. It's the one with the horses, animals can be very good for a trauma victim. This one has a fully finished basement, two levels, plus an attic that can work as a loft as well. There are four bedrooms, two full_ _bathroom_ _upstairs and a powder room on the main floor. It comes with appliances,_ _washer_ _and dryer. There's a fireplace in the living room, but also in the master bedroom. There_ _is_ _an inground pool and a hot tub along with a fire pit area and a tennis court. It would be a great place for Dawn to finish growing up in and to have friends over. That one is seven-fifty, but we could get it down to seven hundred with a fast sale. How does that sound?"_

 _"Sounds nice. If it was just me I wouldn't do it, but it would be nice for Dawn to have a good home. Some place she wants to be and could be proud of._ _Fresh_ _start and all that. What the hell do I do with_ _horses_ _though?"_

 _"You can have a ranch hand that comes by once a day or so to look after them. Or you could just learn. They are pretty simple to look after. They just need basic grooming, food and clean up. The house and barn are in perfect condition. We can have it all ready for you both within twenty-four hours. No one lives there currently."_

 _"Well, let's do that then."_

 _"I'll get it all set for you. I'll also use our contacts to have a ward placed on the house and the whole land so no violence can happen. That way you both are safe once you are on your land. It might come in handy should anyone discover who you are."_

 _"Ta Pet."_

 _"I'll just need a few signatures from you and it will be set to send the request in. Do you have a phone?"_

 _"No."_

 _"I'll give you a cell phone so I can get in contact with you when the house comes through and when we have a job for you. If something comes up that you need help with_ _call_ _me and I will handle it."_

 _Spike gave a nod and watched as Lilah worked away on her computer. Spike was feeling very grateful that he had come here tonight, because otherwise he would never have been able to figure this out at all. Within an hour Spike had everything taken care of and he had a new cell phone. He still had a good seven hours before the sun would be up and Social Services would be open for him. Spike figured he would take this time to add to his kiddie pool. He made his way over to one of the human casinos within L.A and went straight for the poker table. He knew that he had just over two million now with the house purchase and that was more than enough, but Spike figured it was better to be safe than sorry. If something happened and they had to get out Spike wanted to make sure they were covered. He would open a second bank account under a different name so he could have a backup stash should this name get burnt. He would play for five hours before heading back to Sunnydale to get his girl. He had five hours left of his normal life before everything would become painful and hard._

 _End of Flashback_

Spike flipped the pancake and couldn't believe that it had been six months since him and Dawn had left Sunnydale. Since he had given everything up for the fifteen year old girl and became the lowest slave in the demon world. It had all been worth it though. It became worth it the second he saw Dawn's face light up at the mention that she would be living with him. She took it like a champion too when her social worker had introduced Spike as her Uncle William. Dawn hugged him and acted like she hadn't seen him in years and that she had lost his number and couldn't find him to tell him about her mom or Buffy. Spike couldn't have been any prouder of her. She played it perfectly. It only took an hour before Dawn was in his custody and social services was out of their lives. They had driven by the house so Dawn could pick up any of her things that she wanted to keep, thankfully it was empty, before they headed for the highway. Dawn didn't even care that they were leaving Sunnydale for Montana of all places. She was thrilled to be getting away from all of the people who claimed to love her only to abandon her when she needed them the most. Dawn didn't really have any friends that she wanted to stay in touch with so moving far away sounded amazing to her.

They had driven the whole way there. It had taken two days, because Spike stopped for the night so they could get some sleep. Spike had also taken his poker winnings, a cool two million, dumbass humans could never lie, and placed it in a secret account. Spike then had purchased a nice camera for Dawn to use for the new journey she was about to go on. She had it glued in her hands the whole trip and Spike stopped at some major places and sights so Dawn could get some pictures. Dawn had loved every second of the trip. When they finally did arrive at their new ranch home they were both in awe at the beauty of the place. The house was massive and very modern. They were both shocked to see that it was completely furnished so they didn't even have to worry about any of that stuff. Something Spike was very thankful for. They even had a closet each full of new clothes. Spike had ten new high-end suits tailors to fit him perfectly, all of them were black or a smoky grey in colour. Spike knew with being a professor he would need to dress the part for it and he was glad that he would be able to avoid shopping for a little while. Lilah had even made sure to leave brochures for the private schools on the kitchen island counter top for Dawn. Dawn had decided to go to Yellowstone Academy and immediately wanted to start the next day. She was looking forward to being in school again and she seemed to be very interested in being able to make some new friends with some class. Along with the school brochures, Lilah had left some information on top child therapist that dealt with death and trauma. Spike was thrilled when Dawn had agreed to go and speak with one.

Now after six months Dawn was doing amazingly well. She was on a fast track to getting her High School Diploma, now she would graduate at the right age of eighteen instead of nineteen or even twenty. She had made friends with a huge group of friends, all of which were good influences on her. She learnt how to play tennis and had joined the tennis team at her school. She was doing very well, so well that her coach thought she could get a scholarship even to University. Dawn had been seeing her therapist once a week, even still. She felt like it was nice to talk to a stranger about her life without having to worry about being judged or in trouble. She knew she could talk to Spike about anything, but it was nice having an adult female to talk to about girl stuff. Spike was very thankful and grateful to her therapist for still seeing her and understanding that sometimes a teenage girl just needs a female role model in their life.

She was now sixteen, her birthday two months ago, she had gotten her driving license and Spike had given her a car for her birthday. A very nice surprise to Dawn. Spike wanted to make sure she had a car and a new car so she would be safe. Spike had taught her how to drive so he wasn't worried about that. Spike had taught her how to ride a horse and Dawn loved it. She would take a horse out for a ride every day that was good weather for it. Spike wasn't too sure about the horses at first, but Dawn took to them. She was the one who took care of them the most. Spike would help her, but often he would wake up in the morning to find that Dawn had already done most of the work. Five months ago at the request of her therapist they had gotten Dawn a puppy. Her therapist thought it would be good for Dawn to have someone to take care of. Someone that could sleep with her at night and keep her company. Dawn had picked out a golden retrieve that she called Missy. Spike wasn't too sure at first about having a dog, but he would do anything for Dawn and he was very relieved to see that she didn't want some small purse dog.

Spike had been working at the University as an English Professor. He had to change his look so he wouldn't stand out. He kept his hair the same, but got rid of the all black outfits and his duster was hung up in his closet. Spike wasn't too sure about his job at first, but he got into the swing of things within a couple of weeks. The first couple of months were hard on him. His demon was constantly craving the hunt for human blood. It was constantly fighting him on everything. He was in pain constantly for two months before finally the demon gave up and had no choice, but to submit to the new life. Spike made sure he went out every night he could to patrol the cemeteries so he could still get into some fights. He was always able to find some vampires or demon to kill. In the last six months Spike had been able to get along with his colleagues and even would go to poker night with a few of them. It was an adjustment for him to make, but he was always able to make friends. No one had been able to find them and Spike was glad for that. He didn't want to have to take Dawn away from this life. Not when she was finally back on track and happy again. Spike had kept his word to Lilah and once a month he would be sent somewhere for two days to take care of a demon or add some protection to a valuable asset within the Firm. Dawn didn't mind and if she was able to Spike brought her with him. Dawn had been able to see Paris, London, Hawaii and Ireland from it. They had made this life work and Spike was happy as well. Part of him still grieved for the loss of the woman he loved. He still hadn't been able to even look at another woman without feeling like he was cheating. Spike wasn't too concerned about that though, He could get off with his own hand if the need ever came too strong. Eventually with time he would be able to move on. He did love being out in the sun, he had a nice tan now. He would often swim in the pool or play tennis with Dawn. He was always muscular, but now he had some added muscle to him from working out. He was also getting blood delivered to him with different species. He found he liked the otter the best, but he also liked the taste of tiger and wolf blood. This was their life now and Spike was happy with it.

Dawn came down the stairs all dressed in her uniform. She gave Spike a smile and a kiss on his cheek as she spoke.

"Oh pancakes."

"Not just any pancakes, a new recipe. Cinnamon bun pancakes."

"What? Are you kidding me? How did you learn that?"

"Susan at work makes em for her kiddies. I mentioned how you love cinnamon, so she gave me the recipe."

"They smell amazing."

"And they are done." Spike said as he handed Dawn her plate before taking his own over to the island to sit and eat.

Spike had the tests that he was supposed to be grading on the island all spread out to mark later. He had an office, but often when he had to mark tests he found it easier to spread out and mark a few at a time. Dawn took a bite and moaned at the amazing taste.

"This is awesome. Seriously, this is my favourite food."

Spike took a bite and he too was surprised at how good they tasted. "You might have somethin' there Bit. This is better than I thought it would be."

"We should make a bunch then freeze them. That way we can just toast them when we want em." Dawn suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. Tonight?"

"I never miss baking with you. I'm so counting this as baking. You're off all day right?"

"No classes on Thursdays this semester."

"Ok so I'll be home and then we can bake em up. Any idea for dinner?"

"I was thinkin' burgers on the barbeque."

"Oh I could pick up some fires on the way home. We could eat dinner than bake after." Dawn suggested.

"Works for me Bit. Any plans this weekend?"

"I might go out on Saturday with a few friends, I don't know yet. I have that match tomorrow so it'll depend on how that goes."

"You'll be great. What time is it again?"

"Five, do you think you'll make it?"

"I'll be there. Class ends at three."

"Cool. My coach thinks I have a real chance at getting a full scholarship to Montana State if I want."

"Is that where you want to go?"

"Ya it is. I'm not ready to leave this place, even in a couple of years. This is home to me and I'm not ready to be away from it. I just don't know what I want to be yet."

"You must have some ideas."

"Well, I want help people. I just don't know what the best way to do that would be. Dr. Grey thinks I just need some time and when I'm ready I'll just know what to do."

"You will. You got two years yet Bit I wouldn't worry it too much."

"I won't. When it happens, it happens. And now I have a serious sugar high." Dawn said with a smile as she got up and rinsed her plate off before putting it into the dishwasher.

She grabbed a to-go mug and put in her coffee, a habit she picked up when she was in foster care, before going over and grabbing her bag.

"You got everythin'?"

"Yup. I'll see you tonight with fries. You want gravy?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"I know right? Ok love you and see you tonight." Dawn gave Spike another kiss to his cheek before she headed out.

"Love you too Bit." Spike said after her.

Spike gave a smile as he finished his pancakes before he would get back to work on marking the tests. It was a completely different life than Spike ever expected to have living and unliving, but he wouldn't change it for the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **397 Days After Buffy's Death- Sunnydale, California**

Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya were standing in the cemetery looking down at Buffy. A newly resurrected Buffy. The spell had been a success and Tara had immediately done a spell to make the dirt on top of the grave move so they could open her coffin and get Buffy out of it. Buffy was understandable out of it and very confused. She had been dead for over a year now and she was coming from one Hell dimension into the middle of Sunnydale. They had their own problems with demons and vampires all over the place. The town had gone back to being not very safe at night. They had all tried to keep up with it, but once Spike disappeared as well, they were losing the battle. Willow had finally been able to get everything she needed to bring Buffy back. It had taken a longer time than she had originally suspected, but it was done now. Buffy was back to them.

"Buffy?" Tara said gently as she bent down next to her.

Buffy flinched back slightly clearly confused and afraid of the sudden movement.

"Maybe we broke her." Anya said.

"She's not broken she's just disorientated and traumatised. She was in a Hell dimension for who knows how long. She just needs some time and sleep. She'll be okay." Willow automatically said in her friend's defence.

"Look, we need to get out of here. We're in the middle of a cemetery, we gotta get out of here." Xander said.

"You're right. Buffy." Willow said gently as she bent down by her as well. "Buffy, we need to get home, go some place safe. Can you stand up for me please?"

The mention of safe seemed to snap Buffy's attention and she stood up. Together they all slowly made their way out of the cemetery and back to the house. They were all praying that nothing popped out at them to make Buffy even more confused or afraid right now. They just needed her back to the house and then they could take care of her. It was slow going though and when they finally did get back Buffy seemed to be tired already. Willow and Tara took Buffy upstairs to get cleaned up and changed while Xander and Anya stayed out of the way downstairs.

"It's okay Buffy. Let's get out of that dress and into some clean comfy clothes." Willow said.

"I'll go get her some water to drink." Tara said before turned to go into the bathroom.

Willow went and grabbed Buffy some comfy pajamas and helped her to get into them. Tara came back with the water and together they got Buffy changed, cleaned up and into bed. Buffy seemed to be really out of it and tired from the resurrection spell, something Willow had they were confident that Buffy was sound asleep they both left and closed the door behind them. They headed downstairs to see Xander pacing around with worried energy built up.

"She's okay. She's asleep right now. She'll be better tomorrow morning after getting some sleep and food into her." Willow said.

"We did it. We actually did it. We got her back. Got her out of Hell. I can't believe we did it." Xander said as he continued to pace around.

"I know it was awesome. But I am exhausted from it all." Willow said as she went and at down on the couch.

"You would be baby. That was a lot of dark magic. It takes a toll on a person." Tara said sympathetically.

"We need to call Giles and tell him. He'll want to come back for this." Xander said.

"I'll call him and Angel. They should both know. Can you pass me my phone baby?" Willow said.

Tara grabbed Willow's cell phone off the desk and handed it to her. Willow prepared herself for the calls she would need to make. She knew that Angel would be relieved, but she suspected that Giles would have a hundred questions to ask her. With a sigh she decided to call Angel first. Angel was easy, it took her all of two minutes to tell Angel that she was alive and he immediately followed by he was on his way. Giles was an exhausting hour on the phone being grilled about using dark magic for this and for going against the laws of nature. He finally said he would be here tomorrow and with that Willow ended the call before he could start all over again.

"That didn't go so well." Xander said as he could tell by the look on Willow's face.

"I could hear him cleaning his glasses. I'm surprised he didn't break them. Angel will be here tonight and Giles will be here tomorrow. Hopefully by then Buffy will be in better shape." Willow said.

"You need sleep baby. I'll wait up for Angel. He can crash here tonight. I'm sure he'll want to be around Buffy once she is awake." Tara said.

"Maybe we should stay too Ahn. We can crash in Dawn's old room tonight. That way if something happens we can be here for it." Xander suggested.

"Fine by me. I'm too tired to walk back home anyways." Anya easily agreed.

"I can stay up and wait for Angel. You take care of Will." Xander offered.

"Are you sure?" Tara asked not wanting to impose Xander.

"It's fine. He'll be here within two hours assuming he drives the speed limit. It's not a big deal. I'm too hyped to sleep now anyways."

"Ok. Thank-you."

Tara helped to get Willow up and they both headed upstairs to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to bring a crazy day with Angel and Giles here plus they didn't know how Buffy was going to be like.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't until ten the next morning did Buffy even begin to stir. She had slept a good fifteen hours straight and now that her mind was able to think she took in her surroundings. She was no longer in the world of warm light, but in her old bedroom. Buffy was confused for a moment, before it all came rushing back at her. Being forcefully pulled from her Heaven and being thrown back into her coffin. Being back in a world of Hell. Buffy instantly felt a sense of loss. She felt cold and downright depressed. She wanted nothing more than to be back in her Heaven. Be back in that warm light where she was at peace, safe. Now she was trapped in Hell and her own friends put her there. Buffy wanted nothing more than to stay in this bed for the rest of her life. She wasn't ready to face the smiling faces of her friends. Who apparently, thought she was in Hell otherwise they never would have done this to her. The only thing that even got her out of bed was that she sensed Angel and she wanted Angel. She needed him to hug her and tell her it would all be okay. She needed to feel his love for her and maybe she would be able to face this day without killing herself.

Buffy got dressed in some blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She brushed her hair and put it into a ponytail before leaving the safety of her room. Buffy headed down the stairs and was not surprised at all to see everyone, but Spike and Dawn in the living room. The curtains were pulled to keep the sunlight from getting in so Angel must have arrived at some point last night and stayed for her. Buffy immediately went over to Angel without saying anything and he easily opened his arms and took her into them. He held onto her and just allowed himself to feel her in his arms once again. He would hold her for a lifetime if it would help her in this moment. Whatever she needed he would make sure she had it.

"It's going to be okay Buffy." Angel said to her.

After a few more moments Buffy reluctantly pulled back and looked at her friends. The people who pulled her out of Heaven. She tried to smile, but it was just too much for her right now. Giles was the next one to come over and hug her. Buffy easily welcomed it.

"My sweet girl. I came the second I got the call from Willow what she had done."

Buffy had thought that Giles was in on it, but apparently he wasn't. That brought some level of comfort to her. She had someone on her side. Someone that had nothing to do with this horror that she could count on and trust. Once the hug ended, Buffy asked the one question she was wondering about since she walked down the stairs.

"Where's Dawn?"

"Um, ya that's something we need to talk to you about Buffy." Willow said gently.

"Why what happened? She's not dead right?" Buffy asked with worry.

"No she's not dead. It's just that um… well we don't really know where she is." Willow said slightly awkwardly.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is? She lives here. You and Tara seem to be living here too. How do you not know where she is?" Buffy asked confused as the worry started to build in her.

"You should probably sit down for this." Xander offered.

Angel agreed by guiding her over to the couch and Buffy sat down.

"What the hell is going on? Where is my sister?" Buffy asked with more of an edge growing in her voice now.

"See the thing is, three days after you died we had to report your death. The hospital bills from your mom and all of the other debt was too much for us to handle. We needed to claim your death so the debt would be wiped away, plus your life insurance policy from your dad would be active. That let us keep the house going while we worked on getting you back."

"Again, where is Dawn?" Buffy pressed.

"We didn't know that reporting your death would bring Social Services. They came the next day and took Dawn into foster care. That was the last time any of us have seen her." Willow finished.

"What do you mean that was the last time? She was still in town wasn't she?" Buffy asked with anger now starting to appear.

"Ya she was, but we didn't know what house." Xander said.

"But she went to the only school in town. Didn't you go and find her there?"

"No we, we didn't. We were so busy with everything else. You weren't supposed to be gone that long. It was only supposed to be temporary." Willow said.

"But if you declared me dead, then how the hell was I supposed to get her out of foster care if I'm dead?" Buffy argued.

"We didn't really think of that." Xander said slightly ashamed at the situation.

"So none of you know anything about her? What about Spike? Would he know more than you?" Buffy asked as she got up and started to pace around. All she knew right now was that she had to find her sister and make sure she was okay. Let her know that she was alive.

"Spike's not here. He left or died, from what we can tell six months ago. At least that's when the demons and vampires started to get out of control. He was patrolling before that to keep them in check. Then all of a sudden it got really bad." Xander answered.

"Spike was seriously injured after the fall from the tower. He came by the house two weeks after your death to check in on Dawn. When we told him about what happened he was pretty upset over it. He wanted us to adopt her or become foster parents, but we couldn't." Tara started.

"Why the hell not?" Buffy argued back. It made perfect sense to her.

"We're not in that position Buffy. To lesbian college students, they never would have let us be her foster parents. Our best chance was getting you back and trying to figure out the rest after."

"Spike did come to me that night to see if I would as well, but I couldn't." Giles admitted feeling like he owed it to Buffy.

"What?" Buffy asked softly. She couldn't believe this was happening. She thought she had Giles on her side. That she could trust him and now she was learning he might have betrayed her as well.

"I couldn't handle seeing Dawn at the time. It was too painful and irrational as it was, I blamed her for your death. I left town a few days after that and I haven't been back since. Spike was understandably mad with my answer, but that was the last time I saw him." Giles admitted.

"Well that's just great. And what about you two? What's your excuse for letting my sister be in foster care." Buffy asked Xander and Anya.

"None that seem good enough now." Xander sadly admitted.

"That's great. So my friends, the people I trusted to look after her just let her be taken into foster care. You know nothing about what she has been through or where she even is." Buffy said with seething anger.

"I don't know where she is, but I do know she was struggling." Angel admitted. He knew he would be getting in trouble for it, but he had a valid excuse. He was a vampire, soul or not, he couldn't take on a human child.

"How?" Buffy asked as she closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come.

"Six months ago Spike came to me. He begged me to adopt her. He was practically on his knees. Dawn in the seven months she had been in foster care had been in eight different homes. One was apparently, abusive on some level. She had been arrested for stealing and underage drinking. She was expelled from school and placed in a delinquent group home. If she had broken another rule she was going to be placed in Juvi for three years." Angel explained.

"And even after knowing all of that you still didn't adopt her. Free her from that hell? The man that claims to love me more than anything in this world, couldn't adopt my kid sister. The person I died to save." Buffy was out ragged now. Her sister had been in her own hell while she was up in Heaven and none helped her.

"I couldn't Buffy. The others have no excuse, but I couldn't adopt a human child. It's not possible for me." Angel said hoping she would understand.

"And why the hell not?"

"Because he's a vampire and that would go against everything in his nature. Not only that it would destroy his life basically." Anya said.

"What?" Buffy asked now confused all over again.

"A vampire can't play human. It goes against their nature. Yes they can get a soul and stop killing humans, kill other demons, but they can't play human. It's never been done before in history. Say if Angel did adopt Dawn, then he would have automatically lost his status within the demon world. He is from royalty, he's the King of the demon world and instantly he would be lower than a slave. He would no longer have protection. Demons would try and capture him to sell off as some sex slave to the highest bidder. Even if he could avoid all of that the demon in him would fight against the drastic change in nature. He would feel like he was burning up from the inside out. He would be in constant, and at times, unbearable pain for months until his demon finally gave up and submitted. No demon or vampire could ever love something that intense and that unconditionally to do it. They would become nothing but disgusting sex slave workers, lower than that even. If caught they would be tortured, raped, sold, mutilated for centuries until finally they are killed. They even get a seal on them so they have no choice, but to obey their master's every command no matter what it is. They would virtually be like abused dogs in your world. Worth nothing. No one could love that much, not even a human would risk that life." Anya further explained.

"Fine, but that doesn't change that you knew she was in trouble and you did nothing to help her. It seems like Spike, of all people, was the only one to even see her. He apparently left, but at least he tried to help her. The people who are my friends and claim to love me just let my sister, the person I died for, to be taken away like she was nothing. You couldn't have taken her Angel, but you could have had any of your friends adopt her. You could have found a way to get her out of that situation. Anyone of you could have, but you did nothing. You don't even know where she is now." Buffy yelled.

"We can get her back Buffy. I can hack into the Social Services' system to find out where she is and then we can get her back. Somehow." Willow said as she went over to her laptop.

"And how are we going to do that? I'm dead!"

"We can figure it out. We've overcome worse. We didn't know she was having that hard of a time." Xander said.

"But that makes it okay? You didn't know? You didn't know because you didn't bother to see her. None of you did. And now she could be anywhere going through anything. She could be in jail for all you know. How could you do this to me? You were supposed to be my friends, my family. How could you let this happen to my sister?"

Buffy didn't think she could have ever been this mad in her life before. The one comfort she had was knowing that Dawn would be properly looked after by her loved ones. That she was going to be okay with her death. Now she found out that her own friends let her sister be taken away and possibly be in jail right now. All because of what? Buffy died instead. It wasn't Dawn's fault that Buffy had died. It wasn't Dawn's fault that Glory was after her. Dawn was not to blame for any of this and yet she was the one that was punished.

"Ok I'm in. So six months ago someone named William Summers adopted Dawn. Apparently, he is Hank's half-brother." Willow said.

"My dad never had a half-brother. That's a lie."

"Are you sure? Maybe he never told you?" Anya asked.

"Yes I'm sure. Whoever has my sister right now is someone who doesn't exist. Who knows what could be happening to her."

"Ok well, I can find them. I just need to search for anyone with Dawn Summers and William Summers. She's probably in school somewhere. I can find them." Willow said slightly panicked at the situation.

"It's possible that this man is a nice person." Xander said.

"Then why lie about who he is? Why not say he's a nice guy just looking to help a troubled girl out?" Buffy said.

"Because that would be creepy." Anya said.

"Willow, find them and then we'll go get her." Angel said.

"Oh we eh? Where was that we mentality while I was dead?" Buffy said with a snap.

Angel didn't say anything to that, because there was nothing he could say that would make it any better. He wasn't able to take Dawn on himself, it just wasn't possible for him. He wasn't going to apologize for being a vampire. It took Willow two hours before reality set in.

"I can't find them. It's like something is blocking me from finding any information about them online."

"What would make that happen?" Giles asked.

"If they were in hiding." Willow answered.

"So they don't want to be found or he doesn't want anyone finding her. Getting a bad feeling." Xander said.

"It's okay I can do a locator spell. I just need something from Dawn's room and I can find her. I might have to do it a couple of times to find her exact location, but I can find her." Willow said.

"I'll get something." Tara said as she headed up the stairs.

Willow got up to grab what she needed for the spell along with a map and an atlas so they could find exactly what town Dawn was in. Once they had everything Willow began the locator spell. She had the map down on the floor so they could locate which city Dawn was in. Then she would need to use the atlas to determine where in the city Dawn was. The problem was if she was further away Willow could only locate where the majority of her presence was and just hope Dawn would be there. After a minute the map glowed a red dot on Billings, Montana.

"Montana? Who the hell goes to Montana?" Xander asked.

"Someone looking to hide." Angel said.

"Or someone looking to live in the country. Montana is a nice place. And Billings isn't exactly a small town. It's bigger than here with a good number of schools. You have to at least be willing to entertain the idea that Dawn is in a good place and is happy." Anya said.

"Not with someone who doesn't even exist." Buffy said back.

"Maybe Dawn doesn't care about that. If she was in danger she would have called someone." Anya said.

"Assuming she could get to a phone." Giles said.

"I'll do the spell again, but this time with a map of Billings and see where the majority of Dawn's essence is." Willow said.

"How long does it take to get to Billings?" Buffy asked.

"Roughly, twenty hours driving." Xander answered.

"I'm going to pack. Find where she is I'll take a bus and bring her back." Buffy said as she turned to leave.

"I can drive you. You shouldn't go alone Buffy." Xander said.

"Ya we can go with you too just in case you need some backup." Willow said.

"Now you want to help? I'll take a bus. I'll bring her back myself. I trusted you with her, all of you. All you did was betray me and let me down. I'll take care of it myself." Buffy turned to leave and go into her room.

"We're not going to let her go alone right?" Xander asked.

"No, we're going with her." Giles said.

"But how? She doesn't want us there." Anya said.

"It doesn't matter, we go. She was just resurrected last night, we don't know if something is wrong with her. She can't take a bus to get her sister back." Angel said.

"And how do you plan on driving twenty hours during the day?" Xander asked not really liking the idea of Angel tagging along.

"I have special windows on my car. I just need to have someone put the roof up and open the door."

"But what if Buffy won't get into a car with us?" Tara asked.

"She'll see reason. It would be faster to drive than a bus I would imagine anyways." Giles said.

"Ok I got her or where she spends most of her time anyways." Willow said.

"Good work. Now we bring her home." Angel said.

Buffy couldn't believe this was happening. Not only did her friends bring her back from the dead they also had lost contact with her sister and let her be placed in foster home. Now her sister was in the hands of some guy that they didn't even know and couldn't find anywhere online. Buffy didn't know what was going on, but she was going to find out. She didn't know how much clothes to pack, but she had to pack something in case it took a couple of days to get Dawn away from this man. With her bag packed with a few essentials she headed back down the stairs.

"Did you find it yet?" Buffy asked with a black bag in her hand.

"Yes I did. I have it written down." Willow said.

"You're not going alone Buffy. We're all coming with you." Angel said as he crossed his arms.

"It's none of your business anymore. It's mine. I will handle it."

"And you can Buffy, but it would be faster to drive than a bus. We wish to be there for support for you and Dawn should something go wrong. It's best to have backup just in case. We can stay in the car while you go and speak to this man if you wish." Giles said.

"Plus there's not really anything stopping us from getting into a car after you leave and going anyways." Willow said with an awkward smile.

"Fine, but I'll ride with Angel. At least he won't talk." Buffy said clearly not in the mood for any of them.

"Why do you have a bag?" Xander asked.

"In case I need to stay a few days if something goes wrong or she needs time to get her stuff together. Why?" Buffy asked annoyed with her hand on the doorknob.

"We just got you back. Just making sure you're still getting in the car for the trip home, that's all." Xander said with his hand up in a slight defensive manner.

Buffy didn't say anything to that before he opened the door and walked out.

"I really didn't expect her to be so mad at us. She's out of Hell she should be happy and celebrating right now." Willow said slightly disappointed.

"Yes well, you can't exactly blame her. She just discovered that her friends let her down and her sister has been adopted by a complete stranger. I suggest we gather what we might need for the trip and be on our way. Before Buffy decides to take one of the cars." Giles said.

That snapped everyone into motion as they went and grabbed their coats and some drinks and snacks for the trip to Montana. Angel would need to get some blood tonight to have along the way, but for now he was good. Xander went and put the roof up on Angel's car and opened the driver's side door for him. He made a quick sprint over and got in while Buffy sat there staring out the window. Angel knew she wanted quiet so he didn't even try to speak to her. He would let her cool off before he pressed her with questions or small talk. Once everyone was ready they hit the highway and headed for Billings Montana. A place they never thought they would have to go.

 **400 Days After Buffy's Death- Billings, Montana**

Spike was sitting at the island counter working away on his marking. He was wearing his normal skinny black jeans, but with a dark red t-shirt today. He didn't have to go anywhere so he could look more like his old self in the comfort of his home. He had been working on these tests all morning long and he was hoping to have them done soon. He didn't want to have to work on them this weekend and it would be nice to give them back to his students tomorrow. He would also need to update the grades into their database. An annoying program that often crashes on them, but that's what they had to work with for now. It was just after three when he was brought out of his focus by the doorbell. Spike gave a curse at being brought out of his concentration. He was almost done the damn tests and was looking forward to relaxing. Spike got up and headed over to the door. He could tell that whoever was on the other side was human. He opened the door and if his heart could beat, it would have instantly stop dead at the sight of the other person in front of him.

"Buffy?"

Based on the shocked look on her face, Buffy was not expecting him to be opening the door.

"Spike?"

Spike couldn't believe his eyes. There in front of him stood Buffy, the woman he loved, the woman he buried. She was alive again, somehow she was alive. Spike soaked her in and he could tell she was exhausted and in rough shape. She didn't look good.

"How?" Was all Spike was able to get out.

"Willow." Buffy said and that truly summed it all up for him.

"Stupid witch." Spike said and it was then that he noticed the other cars. The whole gang was here, including Angel. They all got out of their cars and Angel took a run to hide under the front porch to be protected from the sun. "You lot didn't come here to tell me that Buffy was alive, so what the bloody hell do you want?" Spike asked with an edge to his voice.

"A locator spell on Dawn lead us here." Tara answered.

"Here we thought she was adopted by some creepy guy. Turns out it's worse. A soulless, evil thing adopted her." Xander said with hatred in his voice.

"William." Angel said softly and it was clear he was in shock at what Spike had done. He would understand better than the others just what Spike had given up.

Spike could see in Angel's eyes that he wasn't here to hurt him. He didn't even seem to want to argue with him about this. Spike couldn't tell for certain, but he thought he saw a shimmer or proudness in Angel's eyes. Something that Spike had never seen directed towards himself. Spike opened the door a little more as he spoke to Angel.

"Get in before the wind blows the shade away."

Angel went inside the house and Spike looked at Buffy.

"Come on in Luv. Seems we got some things to talk about."

Buffy walked in without saying anything and Xander lost his patience.

"Move out of the way Deadboy."

"Now is that a polite way to ask someone to come into their home?" Spike said. He had no interest in playing nice with them. Not after everything they had done.

Xander went to push Spike out of the way only for him to bounce back. Spike gave a smirk.

"Ward all over the property, no violence allowed. That includes shovin."

"You are upset about Dawn, I understand that. It is a regret that I hold." Giles started.

"More about the fact you went against all laws of nature and raised the dead right now Watcher."

"Yes well, I was in London and not aware of the situation. I was called three days ago with the news that Buffy was back."

"Then you get to come in." Spike said as he moved away.

Giles gave a nod of thanks before walking in himself.

"And what about us? This is not a conversation I can live without hearing. You took on a human child. You did the impossible." Anya said amazed.

"Let them in Spike. They can leave if they give too much attitude. It's better to talk about this in private than on the front porch." Angel tried to reason.

"Fine, but any lip and out they go." Spike said as he moved back to let the others in.

They all went into the living room and Buffy was just standing there looking around.

"You can sit Luv or look around if you want." Spike offered gently.

"Where's Dawn?" Buffy asked softly as she looked at the pictures on the fireplace mantel of Dawn.

"At school. She'll be home soon." Spike answered as he went closer to her so he could point at the pictures. "Yellowstone Academy, that's her on her first day."

"I've heard of that school. It's a very renowned private school." Giles said.

"She picked it. She really likes it there. They put her in some fast track courses so she can graduate at the proper age now instead of twenty. She's on the tennis team and really good at it. Her coach thinks she could get a full scholarship to Montana State University when she's ready to go. The house came with a tennis court so she thought she would try it out." Spike said.

"She looks happy." Buffy said with a sadness to her voice.

"She is. She's doin' amazin'. She's gettin' straight A's in all of her courses. She goes for an hour a week to speak with a therapist and she loves goin'. She likes havin' an older woman to talk to about her life. She's got loads of friends that are good influences on her. The house came with five horses, I taught her how to ride. Now she goes every day when the weather lets her. She takes care of em mostly now too. The ones pregnant, the Bit's been going to these special classes on how to take care of fowls. She's taking a photography class for fun and she's good at it. She's good at tennis and ridin', got about ten ribbons and trophies from it in her room. There's a swimming pool, hot tub and fire pit out back that she spends most of her weekends in with her mates. She's doin' real well now." Spike said proudly at the progress that Dawn had made.

A bark from the kitchen had Spike leave to go to the back door to let Missy in. She immediately came over to the new people and looked around. After a second though she went over to Buffy and sat down right by her looking up at her. Buffy looked down and petted the dog.

"Ya well thanks and all that, but she's coming back with us. There's no way we are going to let her be raised by some soulless thing." Xander said.

"Oh really now? The only reason I adopted her in the first place was cause the humans refused to have their lives be slightly more complicated. All of this could have been avoided if you lot did the right thing. Instead I had to. She was one wrong decision away from being locked up for three years. She was sleepin' on a cot in a room with fifteen other girls. The rate she was goin' she would only amount to bein' some drug addict hooker. That girl was filled with so much self-hate it was destroyin' her. All while the people who claimed to love her, love Buffy, did nothin'." Spike said with pent up rage at the situation.

"You adopted her." Buffy said as she looked up to Spike.

"Wasn't gonna let her live that way. She's like a kid sister to me. Love her too much to have that kind of life. She deserved better." Spike said honestly.

"But Anya said no vampire could do that. Take on a human child." Buffy said confused.

"They can't. How long did the pain last?" Angel asked Spike.

"Couple months." Spike said with a shrug.

"You were a prince William. Once that word gets out it will spread like wildfire. Everyone will be after you to claim you as their own. Your demon will hate it, but the longer you go like this the more it will crave it. Accept it from someone. It needs to belong to someone, you know that." Angel said calmly.

"There was no other way. I couldn't do that to her. She blamed herself. She hated herself. She thought about killing herself. I couldn't live with the guilt of not doin' somethin'."

"This is amazing. You have literally pulled a miracle. You're gonna go down in history for this." Anya said with a stupid big smile on her face.

"This isn't a good thing." Angel said with a snap in his voice.

"Hey I see nothing wrong with this situation. All we have to do is let word slip of where Spike is and then someone will take care of this problem for us. How about it Spike, can you say Master?" Xander said with a smirk.

"You think that's funny boy? They won't just take him they'll take Dawnie and sell her off to be a slave as well. Humans are just as rare as a Master Vampire as a slave. She'll spend the rest of her life on her knees wearing a collar obeying the highest bidder." Angel snapped at Xander.

"And if you're thinkin' of just snatching her at school. Even if you can grab her I'll find you and when I do, I'll kill you." Spike said in a deadly tone.

Xander went over and stood right in front of Spike in a challenging position.

"Oh really? What are you gonna do? Lick me to death?" Xander said in a condescending tone.

"No. I'm gonna chain you up and torture you for hours before I snap your neck. See Whelp the chip is gone. Had it removed six months ago. You want proof of that we can take about half a mile walk that way and I'll be happy to give you a demonstration coward." Spike said with a smirk.

"Your chip is gone? Dear Lord." Giles said shocked and clearly worried about what that could mean.

"Have you been killing here? Is that why you picked this place?" Willow asked with disgust in her voice.

"Ya the barn is full of dead bodies just waitin' to be buried. Idiot." Spike said as he rolled his eyes.

"He hasn't been feeding. It would cause too much attention to him. There's no demon community down here and it's not high in vamps." Angel said.

"Look chip or no chip, we're taking Dawn back where she belongs. Back home." Xander said as he moved back a bit.

"She is home. Welcome to ask her yourself, but she won't go. She's happy here. She's built a life and a future for herself here. She's not leavin' unless given no other choice." Spike said confidently.

"What's it's name?" Buffy asked as she looked down at the dog.

"What's that Luv?"

"The dog." Buffy asked as she looked up at Spike.

"Missy. She's just a pup still. Doc thought it would be good for the Bit to have a puppy to keep her company at night. She was gettin' nightmares for a long time. Pups helped her get through it."

"She got nightmares?" Buffy asked sadly.

"Used to. She's worked them out now. The Doc's real good with her."

"She seems to really like you Buffy." Tara said trying to relieve some of the tension in the room.

"Dogs can smell when something is bothering someone." Angel explained.

"Spike, no one here is not saying you have not done something selfless and remarkable for Dawn. And we have made mistakes with her in the past. But surely you can see that the best place for Dawn is to be with her sister, in her home where she is around other people that can help her." Giles said.

"She is home and she is around people who can help her and be there for her. Like it or not Watcher, this is her home and you lost all rights to make demands of her welfare when you walked away from her. You all did. The only one that gets a say in anything is the Slayer."

"Perfect, Buffy came here for Dawn so we'll be taking her back. Why don't you make yourself useful and pack her stuff." Xander said.

"I think we should ask Dawnie what she wants first." Tara said.

"And we came here because William Summers didn't exist and we thought he was some creepy pervert." Anya said.

"William Summers being Spike doesn't make that better. Besides she's fifteen she doesn't get to make life decisions." Xander said.

"She's sixteen you git." Spike said with a roll of his eyes.

"Buffy, what do you think we should do?" Willow asked just looking to get something out of Buffy at this situation. It was clear she was in shock.

"It's up to her." Buffy answered sadly as she went and sat down on the couch. Missy following right beside her to sit in front of her and put a paw and head on her lap.

"Buffy, you can't be serious." Xander said with disbelief in his voice.

"Look at the photos, she's happy. I haven't seen her smile like that since everything with Glory started. She's happy. She has friends, on a sports team. She's living the life that I've always dreamt of having in school. I can't force her to leave that." Buffy said sadly.

"She'll be home soon Luv. As for you four," Spike said pointing to Willow, Tara, Anya and Xander, "You get the Hell out of my house."

"Why do I have to leave? I didn't say anything mean." Anya asked annoyed.

"The four of you brought the Slayer back to life. You went against nature and all laws of physics. Two of you knew better than to ever entertain the idea of using that level of black magic, one of you is an idiot and as for you little witch you're the biggest idiot there is. You four can live with the guilt for the rest of your life knowin' that you tore your best friend out of Heaven and put her back in Hell." Spike spat.

"You don't know anything about what you are talking about. Buffy went into a Hell portal. She was in Hell and we freed her. I freed her, because I am that powerful." Willow said with a deadly anger in her voice.

"No, you're just that stupid. Do you really think that Heaven's Chosen One would die and then be sent to Hell? They all go to Heaven, hence the name. Every single one that dies gets to go to Heaven regardless of whatever portal kills em. That's their reward for living the life of pain, misery and loneliness. You ripped her out of it. Or did you think her behaviour would be normal for someone who spent years in a Hell dimension being tormented?"

"No, you're wrong." Willow automatically said.

"He's not." Buffy said softly still petting Missy.

Everyone turned to look at her and Angel could feel his demon roaring at Buffy's pain.

"Buffy?" Willow said softly.

"I wasn't in pain. It was warm and bright, peaceful. And now I'm back here to constantly fight and deal with impending doom. I was happy." Buffy said sadly and both vampires could smell her tears threatening to fall.

"No, no Buffy." Willow said with her own tears building in her eyes.

"Get out of my house, the four of you now." Spike said in a deadly tone.

"Buff, you can't let Dawn stay here. You need to be with her back at your house. It's the only way you'll heal from this." Xander said gently.

"He said get out." Angel growled.

"Come on, let's leave them alone for a little while. We can get a motel room." Tara said trying to get Willow out of there before anymore could be said.

"This isn't over." Xander said as he looked at Spike before following.

"Go near him and you'll be dealing with me boy." Angel growled in Spike's defense. They didn't often get along or even like each other, but what Spike had done for Dawn was remarkable and deserved Angel's respect.

The four of them headed out of the house and Spike let out a sigh before looking over to Giles.

"Tea?"

"Yes I suppose I could use some." Giles said as he sat down on the couch as well.

Spike turned and headed into the kitchen to get the kettle on. He put some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies out on a plate and got two mugs of blood out while the kettle boiled. Once everything was ready he put it on a tray and brought it out. Placing it down on the coffee table he handed a mug to Buffy.

"Here Luv it'll help soothe your stomach."

Buffy took the mug gently with two hands. She didn't take a sip, but she held it in her hands allowing the heat to warm her hands up. Spike handed one to Giles before passing a mug of blood to Angel. Spike took his own and grabbed one of the cookies before moving and sitting down in a chair. Angel sat in the other chair finally and the four of them were quiet for a moment. Angel took a drink from the blood and was amazed at the taste. He was used to pig's blood and the bitter taste that came with it. This was a different animal, it was smooth and rich.

"What is this?" Angel asked.

"Otter. Got a guy that delivers all different types. Got tiger and wolf in the fridge."

"Tiger? Where did you find him?"

"Bit of a story there. Can give you his number if you want."

"How did you manage to get the adoption to go through Spike?" Giles asked.

"Long story. Short version, spoke to the right person about it." Spike said with a shrug.

"Gonna need the long version." Angel said on their behalf.

Spike let out a sigh before he spoke. "I went to Wolfram & Hart to liquify some assets. They helped me with the adoption and buyin' this house. They did all the legal work for me."

"You went there? Spike they're evil, they can't be trusted. They've been trying to kill me for a few years now because I've been stopping them from hurting people." Angel said.

"Never had a problem with em. They removed the chip, said it would malfunction within a year or two's time and kill me. They let me watch the whole time. Nothing was done to me. They put a spell on my necklace so I can be outside durin' the day."

"Even if they did all of that without twisting the spells around. They want something from you Spike. They didn't do it out of the goodness of their heart. Who did you see?"

"Lady named Lilah."

"Lilah Morgan? You dealt with her personally?" Angel asked shocked and not liking this at all.

"Ya, don't see the big deal. She's not tryin' to kill me."

"She wants something from you. She has to."

"Who is this woman?" Giles asked confused as he was clearly out of the loop.

"Lilah Morgan is the boss of the firm. It's a law firm for the demon world. Evil incorporated basically. They answer to the Senior Partners who is like the First. They don't do anything good or pure." Angel explained.

"And you dealt with them over Dawn?" Giles asked appalled

"As far as I knew they were a firm to demons and that's what I needed. She offered to take me on a contract and I agreed. Contract was standard and basic. I'm on a five year term for them. If I need them I call. In exchange, every month I go to take care of some demon for them that's causing trouble or work as protection detail. Never had a problem with them."

"They're going to want something more from you. They won't just let you go at the end of it." Angel pressed.

"Maybe, maybe not. But without them the Bit wouldn't be in my care and we wouldn't be protected like we are. To you they are bad and I'll take that under advisement. But to me they have done nothing but help me and the Bit. Killin' some demon or workin' for a night as protection to some stuck up rich bloke is a small price to pay for protection." Spike said.

"You need to be careful Spike. They can't be trusted." Angel warned.

"I'm always safe and careful. I'll handle it should I have to." Spike said back.

"Spike, you can now harm a human and go outside during the day. Do you really expect us to believe that you haven't hurt anyone or feed from anyone? That would go completely against your nature." Giles said.

"I think I've proven that I can go against my nature Watcher." Spike growled.

"Yes well it does appear that you have done the impossible where Dawn is concern. Are you prepared for her to leave should she choose it?" Giles pressed.

"It's the Bit's choice, won't take that from her. But knowin' her she won't go. Buffy being back or not. She won't want to go back to that life and back to those piece of garbage the Slayer calls mates."

"Can I see her room?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"Course Luv. I'll show you around." Spike said as he got up as well as the others. They were all interested in this house that Spike has created for Dawn.

Spike lead everyone up the stairs and down the hallway to Dawn's room. Spike opened the door and they were all surprised to see how large the room was. Dawn had her own little balcony in the room along with a walk-in closet. The room was painted a bright purple colour with posters all over the walls. The one wall held different frames where Dawn had filled with pictures she had taken. One was from the drive up, another of her friends, another of each trip that she had taken with Spike. All of the pictures of Dawn showed a happy and smiling girl. She was glowing practically.

"She painted it herself. Wanted to brighten it up a bit in here. She's made it her own." Spike said.

"It's a good size room." Angel said.

"It's a good size house. There's a guest room and an office along with mine on this floor. Finished basement where there's a workout bag, pool table, movie screen and a couple of couches down there. The Bit and her friends spend a lot of time down there. There's also an attic that she's not allowed in. It's the one room in the house I can hide from all the girls." Spike said with a smirk.

"Man cave." Angel said with understanding in his voice.

"It's nice in here." Buffy said.

"Yes this is a very nice room. It speaks to Dawn's personality." Giles said as he took in the photos as well.

"She loves the camera. Can't seem to get it out of her hands most days." Spike said.

"She's does very well with it." Giles said.

"This is Paris." Buffy said as she looked at the photos of their travels.

"Ya, had a job there. The Bit came with. Not on the job just with me to Paris. She got to explore. She's been to a few places with me. This summer we're going to Australia for a couple of weeks. We want to travel to a few places during the summer."

"She seems happy." Buffy said.

"She is. She's also here. Just pulled up." Spike said as he turned to head out of the room.

"She drives?" Giles asked.

"Taught her how. She got a car for her birthday."

"You got her a car?" Giles asked.

"Did ya."

They all headed down the stairs as Dawn walked in with a bag in her hand.

"Hey Spike, I'm home." Dawn called out.

"Bit, we need to talk." Spike said in a serious voice as he came down the stairs.

Dawn looked over to him and was shocked to see Angel and Giles here. What made her heart stop was seeing Buffy behind them all.

"What? What's happening?" Dawn asked softly as she looked at Spike.

Spike went over to her and gently placed a hand on her back.

"Let's go sit down and talk about it. Somethin' happened." Spike kept his voice calm and soothing her to as he guided her over to the living room with the others following.

Dawn didn't sit down though as she kept looking at her sister that had been dead for thirteen months.

"It's really you?" Dawn asked softly.

"Ya it's really me Dawnie." Buffy said back.

"Oh my God." Dawn said as she went and gave Buffy a huge hug.

Buffy held her sister and she couldn't believe how great it felt to finally give her a hug. She had been so worried about her since learning of her whereabouts. Now that she was finally hugging her and seeing her with her own eyes, she felt like she could breathe again. Buffy couldn't get her mind around Spike being Dawn's guardian or anything he had done for her since Buffy's death. Buffy couldn't think about any of this right now. Dawn pulled back as she spoke.

"What happened? How are you alive?"

"Red did a spell. She's only been back a few days." Spike answered.

"Willow did this? But why? You said she was Heaven. You said Slayers always go to Heaven." Dawn said to Spike confused.

"They do Bit. Red and her friends believed she was in Hell." Spike answered.

"But how could they ever believe that? So they just what? Chanted a few words and pulled you out of Heaven?" Dawn asked Buffy horrified.

"Pretty much." Buffy said.

"How did you find me? Did they tell you what they did?" Dawn said with anger clear in her voice.

"Ya they told me what happened. Willow hacked into Social Services and found William Summers adopted you. Then she did a locator spell to find you. We didn't know it was Spike though until we got here."

"So who's all here?" Dawn asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Um everyone. The others left though for a motel. Spike kicked them out." Buffy said.

"Good. He should have done more than that. I'm not seeing them." Dawn said as she turned to look at Spike.

"Never said you had to. You're old enough to decide who you want to see and who you don't. Not gonna force you Bit."

"Then why is either of them here?" Dawn said pointing to Angel and Giles.

"They didn't have anythin' to do with what the others did to big sis. They also feel bad." Spike said.

"Dawn, I know you are angry at me. I'm angry at myself for what happened. I admit that I did not handle the situation well and it is a regret that I shall live with. I went back to London not long after Buffy's funeral. I was not aware of the situation you were in." Giles said.

"Not like you would have done something had you known about it. You knew I was in foster care and you did nothing to change it when you could have. So don't expect me to believe that you would have suddenly came back and did the right thing." Dawn said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm not sure what I would have done." Giles admitted.

"Dawn." Angel started, but was quickly cut off by Dawn.

"Don't you even start. You didn't help either. I know Spike went to you to try and get you and your group to help, but you did nothing. Spike did what you refused to do and because of him I'm alive. I don't want to hear a bunch of bullshit excuses from anyone."

"That's not what we came to do." Angel said.

"No you all thought that after me being gone for thirteen months that now you would come to my rescue and bring me back home. Well surprise I am home and I'm not leaving."

"Buffy is back now though, regardless of how it happened, she is back now. You belong with her." Giles said.

"I belong in a place where no one cares about me. Overrun with demons and vampires so badly I can't walk down the street at night. Constantly having to lie about my life to my friends. Back to a town where I have nothing but bad memories of. Ya I think I'll pass." Dawn said with an eye roll.

"No one's making you come back." Buffy said sadly.

"Buffy." Dawn started, but Spike cut her off.

"Bit why don't you show Buffy around outside. I'll work on dinner."

Dawn gave a nod and they could tell Buffy seemed relieved to be getting away from everyone for a little bit.

"Come on, I'll show you my horse Butterscotch. She's pregnant and will give birth in a couple of months. I'm gonna name the baby Biscuit." Dawn said with a warm smile as she guided Buffy out of the house.

Spike headed into the kitchen to get the hamburgers started. He was glad that he had taken enough ground beef out of the freezer the other night as they had a couple more people than they had planned. Angel and Giles followed Spike into the kitchen not really knowing what to do themselves. They noticed the papers all over the island countertop.

"Tests?" Giles asked.

"I'm an English professor at Montana State. You still got a no food rule?" Spike asked Angel.

"Never had the stomach for it. Don't know how you do it." Angel answered.

"Burger Watcher?"

"Um yes thank-you. And an English professor. That's impressive. You don't seem like the type to want to be a teacher."

"Worked with connections at the time. It's not so bad. Besides I did go to school for it."

"I never knew you went to University." Giles said shocked that it wasn't in any of the Watcher Journals.

"Cambridge, English Master's degree. It's not somethin' I brag about. Works in my favour this time around. How bad is Sunnyhell?"

"I'm not quite sure. From what I have heard from the others, it's rather a dangerous place at the moment. Having Buffy back in that sense is a god send. With a Slayer back on the Hellmouth she will be able to make it safer once again." Giles answered.

"Is that what she wants?" Spike asked as he got a plate down, almost ready to turn the barbeque on.

"No one has spoken about it yet. But that is her home and her duty." Giles answered.

"And you really think it would be a good idea to just let her go back out there knowin' what you do?" Spike asked shocked that Giles wouldn't see the problem in this.

"Spike has a point. It's dangerous for her to be out slaying right now. She just woke up in her grave. She was pulled out of Heaven. She needs time before going back to fighting." Angel said.

"Time or not, the Hellmouth does not have it. Sunnydale is worse than ever from what I have gathered. She is the Slayer and she is back alive. She has a duty to fulfil. I'll stay for a while and help in any way that I can, but I'm afraid it is on her shoulders."

"Ya well maybe it should be about what she wants, what she needs and not what the bloody universe expects her to be. You got another Slayer locked up. Go get her out so Buffy can retire and maybe find a reason to want to keep being here. Otherwise, she's just gonna go right out there and get herself killed so she can go back." Spike said as he headed out to get the barbeque heating up.

"She wouldn't be the first Slayer to commit suicide by demon or vamp Giles. Spike's right about this. As much as I hate to admit it, Spike knows more about Slayers than anyone. You need to take it slow with Buffy otherwise she'll never recover from this. You have to be prepared for the chance that she'll never really be a Slayer again. Maybe she shouldn't be." Angel said.

"And what would she do? She would never be able to live in Sunnydale and not go out patrolling. It's in her blood. The best thing for her is to get back into a normal routine."

"I don't know about that." Angel said clearly unsure of what to be doing in this situation. All they could do was wait and see what Buffy wanted to do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dawn took Buffy to the barn where they kept their horses. She had spent a great deal of time here when they first arrived. She loved the idea of having horses and being able to take care of them. Missy was with them as she normally was always with Dawn. Between Missy and the horses Dawn had been able to heal from everything that had happened to her.

"So how are you feeling with everything? I mean major shock right?" Dawn asked.

"It is ya. How are you? Are you happy here?" Buffy asked wanting to know that more than anything from Dawn.

"Ya I am. I know this seems really crazy and out there for me to be adopted by Spike under a false name, but I've never been so happy before in my life. When I found out that I was the Key I felt lost. I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. Those memories that I cherished weren't even real. Then Mom died and then you died. I lost everything all within a few months."

"Then foster care." Buffy said sadly.

"It was bad. Looking back though it wasn't as bad as I felt that it was. That first foster home was hard, because it was the first and I never thought I would be there. Even with you gone I thought for sure that I would be okay. That Willow and Tara would make sure I was okay. They moved in right away and I thought it would be okay. But then out of nowhere three days later I was being dragged out of there with nothing but a bag. The first house wasn't bad, it really wasn't. It was my fault for getting kicked out. I started to act out in school and skipping it. The foster parents had five other kids all younger than me. They couldn't handle a troubled teen. After that it just got worse. The next house was horrible. We were locked in a closet basically for the whole time. It was pretty bad. During those seven months before Spike adopted me I had eight foster homes. I was days away from Juvi or worse. I was so angry and I hated myself so much it felt like I couldn't breathe all day. I thought about killing myself just to escape it. Then that day came"

"The adoption." Buffy stated with hurt in her voice at hearing from Dawn what had happened to her.

"It was almost ten in the morning and I was at the group home for troubled teens. I couldn't believe seeing him out during the day. I thought I was dreaming or hallucinating. Him and my social worker were there and told me that my Uncle William had adopted me and I was getting to live with him. I ran upstairs so fast to grab my bag and then we got into Spike's car and headed over to the house. He told me that we were leaving, that we had to leave. I didn't even ask him where, because it didn't matter to me. I was getting away from all of the heartache and misery that I had experienced there. We stopped just long enough for me to grab all of my things before hitting the highway. Spike told me we were coming here. I even pulled up the place on my phone to see what the pictures were. Spike bought me a camera to take pictures. He stopped all along the way to let me get out and see some of the sights. It took us like seven hours longer than it was supposed to because of it, but he didn't care. The house had all of the furniture in it and that day we went shopping for clothes and decorations for our rooms. Buffy, it's been amazing here. He's been so amazing with me. He risked everything just for me. He was in constant pain from his demon trying to rebel against him. Sometimes he still passes out from being weakened. He threw everything away just for me; so I've done everything I could to make sure he knew it was worth it. To not let him down."

"I never thought he would ever do something like this. That night you were taken, when we went back to the house to get some weapons. I invited him in and I asked him to promise to look out for you if something happened. He promised me he would until the end of the world. I never thought he would ever go this far. I don't know how I feel about any of this. I thought my friends would be taking care of you, but they weren't and if it wasn't for Spike you wouldn't be okay. Spike said you like school now?"

"I love my school. It's amazing Buffy. At first I wasn't sure, but Spike let me pick which private school I wanted to go to. At first I didn't know how I felt about being in a private school, because you know snobby people. But the place was beautiful and they had all these amazing courses like Latin, dance, psychology and mythology. Plus they had a tennis team and with the tennis court in the backyard I thought it would be cool to learn and maybe try out. The place is awesome and my friends are so cool and not stuck up rich kids like I thought they would be. We all volunteer for different charities throughout the year. Next month we have our reading week break and we're gonna take the horses on a trip to this ranch resort for the week. It's going to be amazing. I even have a therapist that I speak with once a week just to get any feelings out or to just talk to an adult female. It helps a lot. I'm happy here. I'm really happy here."

"That's good. I want you happy. This place looks really great. Horses, tennis, pool, hot tub, fire pit, it's a great place for someone to be. All I wanted was for you to be happy. I didn't know it would be Spike here with you. I thought you were adopted by some pervert."

Dawn gave a chuckle to that before she spoke. "No, not a pervert. He's been so great with me. What about you? What happens now that you're back?"

"Well I came here to bring you home, but now that I know what is really going on. I guess that's up to you. Do you want to go back to Sunnydale with me or stay here?" Buffy asked, but deep inside she was terrified of the answer. She knew Dawn wasn't going to leave and she had no right to ask Dawn to go back with her. She was happy here. She had a real life here and a chance at a normal one. Buffy couldn't take that from her.

"I love you, you know that. And I'll always be grateful for everything you've done for me. You died to save my life. I could never repay you for that, but Buffy, I am home. This is my home now and I can't leave it. I don't want to leave it. I love being here." Dawn said with guilt in her voice at causing pain to Buffy.

"It's okay. I figured you would want to stay. I don't want you to leave here. This is your life and you're happy here. I can't take you away from that, away from this. This pace is amazing. I could never give you a life like this. Mom couldn't have given you a life like this. She wouldn't want you to leave here either. I already knew you wouldn't. It's okay. I'll be okay and we can talk on the phone and maybe you could come visit in the summer."

"Ya for sure. But you know there is another option. You could just stay here with us and not go back there."

"I can't do that. I'm the Slayer. I can't just abandon the Hellmouth."

"But technically you died. It's not your job anymore, it's Faith's job. They pulled you out of Heaven. Let them figure it out for themselves. Stay here with me. Spike won't care. We have that spare bedroom that no one uses. You could live here and go to college or something." Dawn said hopeful.

"I can't do that Dawnie. Even if I could abandon my friends and my duties. I can't just show up on Spike's doorstep looking to stay here. This is his life as much as it is yours."

"Spike wouldn't care if you were here. He would love to have you here. They abandoned me and now after thirteen months brought you back to this dark world, one filled with violence. I say screw them and live your life how you want it. You've died twice now, isn't it your time to live your life how you want it and not how other people dictate for you to live it? Screw em, let them figure out how to get Faith out a prison to do it."

"I don't know Dawnie. It's not that simple. At least I know you're safe and looked after properly. That's what I care about."

"But I care about you. Who is going to look after you properly? I know you don't like Spike, but at least here you wouldn't have to worry about bills or working until you felt ready. Spike would take care of you, like he takes care of me. I mean Buffy he loves you. He made that promise because he loves you. He did this all for me because he loves you. And I know he loves me like a kid sister, but it's different. At least here you would be taken care of and have the chance to get passed what happened to you."

"I'm grateful to Spike for what he did, but I don't need someone to take care of me and that's not fair to him. He's created a life here just like you. It's not fair to disrupt it."

"I'm telling you, he wouldn't care and he wouldn't see you as a disruption. But it's your choice. I can't make you stay if you don't want to. It's cool I get it. And we can still talk on the phone and we can visit right?" Dawn said trying not to sound disappointed.

"Right." Buffy gave a small smile.

"We better head back. Spike is probably making burgers right now. He's actually a really good cook for someone who's been dead for over a century." Dawn said as they headed out of the barn.

"Well he does eat so that would make sense."

Buffy followed Dawn as she headed around the back of the house to see Spike and Giles outside while Angel stood inside to be safe from the sun. Spike was grilling some burgers.

"How are they doin'?" Spike asked Dawn and she already knew what he was asking about.

"Good. I'll let them out after dinner, but they don't tend to like leaving her this far in." Dawn said referring to the other horses in the barn.

"They're protective of her. They can smell how close she is and know she can't be out runnin' around. It'd be good to get the others out to stretch their legs. They'll be in all day tomorrow while we're both in class."

"I'll see if I can get them out after." Dawn said as she sat down.

"You have class too?" Buffy asked Spike.

"Sort of Luv. I'm an English professor at the University."

"You teach?" Buffy asked surprised.

"That I do Luv."

"How are you feeling Buffy?" Giles asked.

"Fine." Buffy simply said.

"Have you decided on where to live Dawn?" Giles asked looking to get something more out of her.

"Ya here, my home. I'll go and get the rest of dinner ready." Dawn said as she got up and headed inside. It was clear that she wasn't happy about any of this.

"Yes, well I suppose that is the end of that." Giles said.

"What did you expect? Her to tell you lot that all is forgiven and that she would go pack a bag and leave her life behind? She's happy here. Makes no sense for a person to go back to a place where they were miserable and full of painful memories. It's bloody stupid."

"Yes well, Dawn is lucky that she does not have responsibilities that she should be there for. She's just a teenager and can live her life how she sees fit. It's not as if she was a Slayer with a sacred duty to attend."

"That's the problem with you Watchers. You always forget that a Slayer is a person too. All you lot are interested in doing with them is use em as a weapon. The second the weapon is no use to you, you wankers just toss them aside and pick up a new shiny one. Who cares about the person you are leaving destroyed behind or buried. As long as you lot don't have to fight yourself. Nothin' but a group of pathetic men hidin' behind a skirt. If you wankers actually cared about your girls you would have made sure they were trained enough and taken care of so they didn't have to be so miserable and in pain all the time. Instead you just beat them down until everything special and beautiful about them is destroyed. All so you can manipulate and abuse them to your liking." Spike said with disgust in his voice.

"That's not true." Giles immediately said.

"No? So you didn't weaken your Slayer when she turned eighteen and sent her to fight a vampire with the strength of a normal girl locked up in some house? You didn't send her into a fight knowin' she would die at just sixteen without steppin' in to try and stop it? You haven't filled her head with biased opinions about the world and what her purpose is for it? You haven't told her that she is a Slayer and that is all she will be? If she had been a normal girl and was told what you have told her in the past, you would be abusive. Why does her bein' a Slayer make her any less of a woman? Of a human being? I've seen Slayers kill themselves by their own hand just to escape the mental abuse from their Watchers. Them feelin' like they are nothin'. You wankers never stop and think about the poor girl behind the Slayer. Never think about how it's a person, a girl, with the whole world on her shoulders. You demand too much from them." Spike said with a calm voice, but they all knew he was anything but calm about it.

"You know nothing of what you speak of. You have no idea how I feel for Buffy or any of them." Giles said with anger in his voice.

"I know exactly what you think of her. I know exactly what I'm talkin' about. You and the rest of that Sunnydale lot. If any of you actually loved her and cared about her as much as you claim to, you would have let her go a long time ago. Let her have a real life, one that isn't filled with violence and endless stress and misery. She wasn't the only one, you had one locked up. You should have let her go a long time ago. So much pain could have been avoided." Spike said as he turned to head inside to grab what he needed.

"Buffy, don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he is talking about." Giles said to a very quiet Buffy.

"I told you Giles, Spike knows Slayers better than anyone." Angel said as he pushed away from the doorway leaving them alone.

"Would it be so bad?" Buffy asked softly.

What Spike had said was running through her mind. They did have another Slayer. She had died twice now, surely her job was done. Her duty could become someone else's duty now. She had the right to walk away and be happy herself right? Not that she thought she would be happy here or even wanted, but still it would be a chance to maybe figure out her life. Maybe it would be okay to go. If Giles said it was.

"Would what be my dear?" Giles asked gently.

"To not go back? You have Faith. You don't really need me." Buffy said and Giles could hear the pleading tone in her voice. Both of them forgetting that Spike and Angel could hear their conversation even in the kitchen. Both vampires shared a look before Giles spoke.

"Buffy, I know this is difficult for you. I can't imagine what you are currently going through at the moment. It's not something I ever wanted you to go through or to feel this way. And yes we have Faith, but we don't truly have her. She is in prison and never getting out. You are the only active Slayer and the Hellmouth needs a guardian. I know this is hard for you, but you will see that after getting back into a routine you'll start to feel better. You'll be happy again soon enough. And I'll be there for a short period before returning to London. I can help make sure you are trained fully."

"You're leaving? You're going to go back there and leave me with everything?" Buffy asked with hurt in her voice.

"Eventually yes I will have to. I have commitments back in London. I can't break them. It's been thirteen months Buffy, I had to move on and take on a job and responsibilities."

"But I'm not ready to do this on my own. What do I do with the house? How do I pay rent? How do I find a job and still patrol at night?" Buffy asked sounding lost and overwhelmed.

"We will figure that out. You could sell the house and rent an apartment. You can work at a restaurant or fast food location so you are working during the day or later in the day and then you can still patrol at night without losing too much sleep that way. We will sort all of that out before I must leave."

Buffy just gave a nod, because there truly was nothing else she could say to that. It was clear that Giles was leaving regardless of anything she said. Buffy had no choice, but to accept this as her life now. She would be going back to Sunnydale to be on her own, no family and no friends. Just going back to Hell.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Inside Spike gave a look to Angel and Angel nodded his head over to the hallway. Spike walked over away from everyone with Angel, and they walked down the hallway slightly until they were more towards the dining room.

"She's going to get killed." Angel started off.

"I know. Just like you know those wankers are not gonna do anythin' to help her. All they are gonna do is pressure her right back into doin' everythin'."

"She can't go back, not like this. You need to convince her to stay."

"You want her here with me?" Spike asked shocked that Angel would ever suggest that. Spike had been planning on talking to Buffy about staying later on when they got a chance alone, but he never thought Angel would ever be all for that idea.

"She needs to be where Dawn is, and Dawn is refusing to leave. I would take Buffy with me to L.A, but it's too close to the others. She needs a fresh start, a chance to heal. She has a chance to heal here. I think it would be good for her until she's strong again."

"I'll talk to her about it, but I can't force her to stay."

"There's also another issue we need to discuss. You are at a serious risk here Spike. You've been lucky that word hasn't gotten out about this yet. Once it does get out, it's going to spread like wildfire. Every Master Vampire will be coming after you to claim you as their own. They'll want you more than anyone because of your blood. You'll be the most valuable slave on the market."

"I'm well aware of that," Spike said clearly not happy about the reminder.

"The only way to protect yourself from being claimed is to be claimed as a Childe from another Master Vampire."

"I'm aware. Not really about to go lookin' for some Master Vamp to claim me as his new bitch, ta though."

"I'm not saying you find some vamp. I'm suggesting I claim you as my Childe. That will at least protect you from being claimed as a slave. It won't stop someone from trying to kill you or capture you, but it will keep you from being claimed."

"You want to claim me as your own?" Spike said shocked and clearly unsure how he felt about it.

"Want, no. But I think it's something we should do. You did this for Dawn, for Buffy; something I couldn't do. The least I can do is help to keep you and her safe."

"You do realize we'll be connected. You've never wanted that. You made it perfectly clear that you didn't."

"I know, but things are different now. Spike, even standing here I can feel your demon screaming for this to happen. You can feel it pulling you to do this. What's going to happen when you cross paths with another vampire looking to do the same? Your demon won't be able to resist for long. At best you'll be some mindless minion, but at worst you'll be destroyed beyond repair. I'm offering you some protection. I know what it would mean for us, and I'm still offering."

Spike let out a sigh and Angel could see that he wasn't sure about all of this, but he knew he was racing against the clock that he wouldn't be claimed by someone else. Spike didn't have much of a choice.

"Well, I don't have much choice. Better you and someone else. Plus if I do get grabbed you'll at least be able to find me. So that's a bonus."

"I will be able to, and I will come for you. No matter what Spike remember that. I'll come for you."

Spike gave a nod before he spoke. "Now or later?"

"Might as well do it now."

Spike just moved away and headed up the stairs so they could do this in his room. He didn't fancy Dawn walking in on them. Angel easily followed Spike up into his room. Once there Angel closed the door and took a second to take in Spike's room. He had his own bathroom and balcony. He also had an electric fireplace by his bed, a dark red rug on the floor, a king size bed, a dresser, television, a coffee table and a couch in the room. It was a rather large size room because even with that stuff in it there was still a good amount of room to walk around in.

"This is a nice place."

"Ya, it is. Big difference than my crypt."

"How are you liking it? I know you love being a vampire. You never wanted to be human again."

"No, but this time around is better than the first. At least I can still go out at night and fight some random vamp or demon coming into town. It's not so bad. Got used to it. It's been lonely though. People at work know me, but they only know part of me. It's exhaustin' havin' to hide who I really am. Don't matter." Spike said with a shrug.

"It does matter Spike. What you did was completely selfless and went against everything in you. You did something I could never do. I'm proud of you for doing this. And whenever you feel like you're losing yourself or drowning in the lie, I'm only a phone call away."

"Ta mate." Spike said with a small smile.

Angel went over to Spike and placed his hand against Spike's cheek. Spike closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and turned his head slightly offering it up to Angel. Spike didn't even realize he had done it and it was a clear sign to both of them just how much pain his demon truly was in. Spike never submitted no matter what he went through, he never submitted. Angel shifted his face and bent down to Spike's neck. He whispered into Spike's ear before biting.

"Nice and gentle."

Spike still braced for the pain as he could clearly remember how much it hurt when Drusilla did it that first time, not to mention every bite from her afterward. Angel could feel Spike tense up and it was obvious that his words didn't offer any comfort to him. Angel sucked on Spike's neck to bring the blood up closer to the surface. When Angel thought Spike was ready, he gently slid his fangs into Spike's neck. Spike felt the slight pain of the prick, but afterward, he was surprised to see that Angel didn't start tearing into him. He was gentle and slow with the pulls, not taking too much just enough for this to work. After three pulls, Angel spoke.

"My Childe."

"My Sire." Spike easily replied, and he could feel his demon purring at finally belonging to someone again.

Angel removed his fangs and licked the marks to seal them before turning his head and guiding Spike down to his neck. Spike repeated the process with Angel and made sure that he went slowly as not to hurt Angel, his new Sire. After a few pulls, Spike spoke.

"My Sire."

"My Childe."

They could both feel the response with Spike's demon. Angel's demon didn't have much of a reaction as Spike was still family to his demon. It was Spike's demon that had spent the past six months in turmoil and pain of being all alone. Spike would have lost all connection to Drusilla when Spike cut the demon off from its world. Spike would have had to do it to keep his demon in check during the first couple of months he took on Dawn. Angel knew that Spike would have been in pain, but he didn't expect it to be this bad. Angel could feel exactly how much pain the demon had been in and how dangerously close Spike was to his demon taking control and refusing to fight against the next vampire. A demon has to belong to another demon in some way. Within a week Spike could have been lost to them for good.

Spike pulled back, and Angel could see more peace within his eyes again.

"Maybe now I won't pass out anymore." Spike said softly trying to get his emotions back behind the wall.

"What do you mean pass out?" Angel asked with concern.

"Happens once or twice a month. The demon can't take anymore, and I pass out for about a day or two. It's been a lot harder than I thought it would be." Spike softly admitted.

"Demons are naturally social things. They live in clans with their family. They need people around them. You were like that when you were human, and that only was made worse in your death. You weren't made to be alone in the world. It hurts you too deeply. I'll keep the connection open on my end, so you'll always feel someone there. Hopefully, that'll help."

"Thank-you for doing this."

"We're family it's what we do. We're all that's really left out of it. We're on the same side again; we shouldn't be trying to kill each other. I'll be there if you need me."

"I'll be there for you."

Spike went and removed the magical chain around his neck. The windows were all special tinted so that the UV rays wouldn't affect him. Spike had it installed as a backup in case something ever happened to the necklace. He handed it over to Angel as he spoke.

"You can't keep it, but an hour or two out in the sun won't kill you."

Angel gave a small smile as he took the gold chain. "Maybe I should have Wes look into something like this. For emergencies."

"Or for when you feel like being in the sun for a few minutes. You can be a creature of the night and still walk in the light you know."

Angel put on the chain as he spoke. "Maybe you're right. It's not like I need sleep."

"I need sleep. Now more than I ever used to. I'm lucky if I can go two days without sleep anymore."

"It might get better now. Your demon seems happier."

"Feels happier. Time will tell I guess. We should head back down before the others think we've killed each other."

"Probably."

They both headed out of the room and back down the stairs. Spike went as close to the door as he could before the sun would be too bright. Angel walked out to see that everyone was outside finishing dinner. They all looked at him as he stepped into the sun and gave a smile.

"Really?" Dawn asked Spike with a smile.

"Figured an hour wouldn't hurt." Spike said with a shrug.

"Where did the bite mark come from?" Dawn asked as she got closer with the burgers finished.

"Just added protection. Nothin' to worry about Bit."

"You bit each other?" Giles asked now very interested.

"We claimed each other. It will help with Spike's demon, and it will stop any vampire from trying the same thing with him." Angel said as he looked up into the sun.

"Oh cool." Dawn said from inside the kitchen.

"Yes, that is rather fascinating. Will you both be able to feel each other even that far apart?" Giles asked.

"As long as the connection is open we can. The connection means I can feel if Spike is captured or in danger." Angel answered.

"Dinner is ready." Dawn called out.

"I'll be there in a minute." Angel said.

Giles went in, and Spike could tell that Angel wanted a word with Buffy, so he turned and headed over to the counter to grab his food. Angel went and sat down next to Buffy who was sitting quietly in one of the patio chairs.

"What's on your mind?" Angel asked gently.

"Why him and not you. I don't understand. You said it would be impossible for you or any demon or vampire to take on a human child. Yet Spike did it. The world no longer makes sense. You say you love me and I believe you because you have a soul so that must mean you can love and feel real love. But the love you have for me wasn't strong enough for you to take on Dawn. Spike claims to love me, and he's a soulless demon who shouldn't be able to feel any emotion much less love someone. Yet he took on Dawn and a human life basically. Why could he do it and not you? Does that mean he really does love me? Can he love without a soul? He must right because then being there for Dawn wouldn't have mattered to him. I don't understand." Buffy said clearly confused and feeling overwhelmed.

"You've always been told the world is black and white. Demons and vampires are bad, humans are good. I've always gone along with it because it was better than you second guessing yourself out in the field. But the truth is Buffy; the world is gray. There are hundreds of different demon breeds that feel love and every human emotion there is and are completely innocent and harmless. They work just like humans do. Your prisons are full of people with souls that had committed crimes that I have when I was evil. Vampires don't tend to feel emotions. Their demons don't care for them as you've seen. But Spike is different. He's rare. Because he is capable of feelings and love. He loved Drusilla for over a century. He put up with everything she did to him. Most would have left closer to the beginning, but he stayed because he loved her. And as much as I hate saying this. Spike took care of Dawn because he loves you. He doesn't hunt and kill even though he can now because he loves you and Dawn. Spike doesn't need a soul to be good. That's what makes him rare."

"But why doesn't he? If he can do that then what's the point of a soul? What makes him so different?"

"I don't know. He's always been different. Always been gentle and kind. He's dangerous, but only when he has to be. A lot of what he did when he was evil was because of Angelus or to keep Drusilla. I don't know why he is the way that he is, but if you're worried about Dawn with him, you don't have to. Spike is loyal to her, to you. His loyalty and love is his soul."

"Seeing him with her, seeing him out here cooking dinner. He seems so human, but then I remember all the times he tried to kill my friends and me. All the aggravation he put me through. It's hard to believe it's the same person."

"Believe me I know, but deep down he's always been this person. He's just never had the chance to show it. Buffy, I don't think you should go back."

"I have to. It's my job, my duty. I have to go back. Besides where else would I go?"

"Stay here. You're welcome to come back home with me, but I think being with Dawn would be better for you. Plus being far away from that old life as well."

"Dawnie wants me to stay, but I can't just show up on Spike's doorstep looking to stay. He's done enough for me; he's still doing too much for me. I don't have any right to add more to his pile."

"He wouldn't see it that way. Spike takes care of people, it's what he does, and he does it really well. Better than anyone I've ever seen. He wouldn't think twice about taking care of you and helping you get better. Just think about it."

Buffy just gave a nod and Angel wasn't too sure if she actually would or not. Angel could tell she needed some space, so he got up and headed down off the back deck. He figured he would look around the grounds for a bit as there wasn't much sunlight left in the day. He didn't know when he would be able to be outside again so he wanted to get as much sunlight in as he could.

It was after dinner and after the sun had set did Spike finally get some time alone with Buffy. Spike went out for a smoke on the back deck to see Buffy sitting down on the steps leading off of the deck. Spike went over and sat down beside her, forgetting all about his smoke.

"How are you doing Luv?" Spike asked gently.

"Fine. Dinner was good." Buffy said softly, and Spike could tell she was anything, but fine.

"You're not fine Luv. How could you be after everythin' that's happened to you in the last few days? Hell, even the months before your death. You get to be not okay."

"That's just it. I don't get to be not okay. I have to leave tonight to go back there. Back to Hell and fight all over again trying to keep the world from ending. Knowing that if I fail, I've killed millions of people. Go back to find a job and pay bills. Figure out what I'm going to do with the house and everything in it. I get to flip burgers and then try not to die at night. That's going to be my life now until I die."

"That's where you're wrong Luv. No one said that had to be your life. Before ya, you were the only one, but you're not anymore. They got a Slayer. They just don't want to put effort into getting her out of prison and workin' with her. It's your life, not theirs, not the Council of Wankers, not the Watcher. Yours. You get to dictate how you want to live it. You can choose to go back to Hell and fight until you eventually just give up and die. Might take a few days, might last a few more years. Not likely, but maybe. Or you can decide to make your own piece Heaven on Earth."

"Ya and how would I even do that?" Buffy asked sounding so lost it broke Spike's, heart.

"You decide who you want to be. You don't even know who Buffy is to you. All you know is the Slayer because that's all anyone has ever let you been. You're more than a Slayer. You're a woman, a person, a human being. You get to decide what life you want, especially now that there are two of you. You have no idea how amazing you are Buffy. Not the Slayer, but Buffy. I've seen parts of her over the years, and I can say with complete certainty that she is the most amazing woman I have ever met in my entire existence and that's a tall order to fill Luv. Don't be so quick to dismiss her."

"I don't even know what I would do, where I would go."

"You wouldn't go anywhere. You'd stay here with people who actually care about you beyond how many ways you can protect them. And do? Do whatever you bloody well like. If you want to patrol, patrol. You want to go to school, go to school. You want to spend three weeks curled up in bed hating the world do that. Focus on one day at a time before trying to figure out the rest of your life. Stayin' wouldn't be running away from somethin'. It would be runnin' to somethin'. You deserve to have a good life. You've died twice for this world, more than any Slayer ever has. You did your duty. You paid your price. Saved the lives. Now it's time the world let you go. Be free Luv. Stay."

"It's not fair to you. You already have Dawn, and you've done so much for her. You don't need my craziness to go with it."

"I spent a century with Dru, you Luv are not crazy. And even if you were I would gladly take that on. Blow up my world, be my guest. I just want you happy and healthy again Luv. It's been a year since I've seen that in you. You did your time; now it's time you got to be you. My door will never be locked to you, ever." Spike said as he held out a key for Buffy.

Buffy gave a sad smile before she took the key. "I don't know what to do. Part of me feels like I'm supposed to go back and do what I've always been told to do. Another part of me though wants to kill my friends for everything they've done to Dawn and me. To stay here and hide. I don't know what to do."

"Well, the first step would be takin' to your mates and gettin' some answers from them. Like why Red didn't do a spell to check where you were first. What their plan is for when you do get back? Are the two livin' with you and helpin' with the bills or are they leavin' you to do it all? What's goin' on with your Mum's gallery? Once you have those answers, you can see how you feel about everythin'. There's no shame in takin' a week off to think about where you want to live or do. Personally, I think you should stay and try to find happiness in this world and in yourself. This place is a safe haven for the Bit; it can be yours too Luv. There's no pressure on my end Luv. We got the space; we have more than enough money, so you won't have to worry about workin'. The choice is yours, but the offer is always there for you."

"Thanks. I really do appreciate everything you've done for Dawn. I'm sorry it's been so hard on you."

"It's fine Pet. I'd do it again if I had to. She's amazin' just like her big sis."

"I should get going. Long drive ahead of us."

"Sure Luv. Just remember you're always welcome here."

"Thanks."

Buffy got up, and Spike did as well. They both headed inside to see that Giles and Angel were itching to get going. Dawn looked sad at the thought of her sister leaving. She wished she could go with her, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. She loved it here, and she didn't want to go back to being miserable. All she could do was hope that one day Buffy would be back here with her and then they could be happy together for the first time in years. Buffy went and gave Dawn a hug real quick before pulling back.

"I'll call when I get back. And you can call me whenever you need to talk." Buffy said.

"Same to you. I love you."

"I love you too. Keep doing what you're doing and don't give Spike too much trouble."

"I promise."

"Be safe Dawn. Come on Buffy; we need to head back." Giles said.

Buffy just gave a nod, and the three of them headed out of the house. Once the door was closed, Dawn looked over at Spike, and he could see the concern in her eyes.

"Is she going to be okay? Did I do the right thing?"

"Come here Niblet." Spike said as he pulled her into a hug. "You did the right thing. You can't destroy your life for anyone, not even your big sis. I'm proud of you. That wasn't easy, but you made the right choice."

"Thanks, Spike. And thanks for not making me see the others." Dawn said as she pulled back.

"You can see who you want. Not gonna force you to see people that bring up bad memories."

"Thanks. I should get my homework done. I have that match tomorrow."

"You will be amazin' just like you always are. You start your homework I'll clean up and finish my markin'."

"Looks like we're both working." Dawn said with a smirk.

"Looks like Bit. Race you." Spike said with a smirk himself.

Dawn gave a chuckle to that before she grabbed her bag and they both got to work on getting their homework done.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Buffy was quiet the whole way to the motel that the others had gotten for the night. They didn't know when they would be leaving, but even if it was tonight, it was better to have a place to stay and talk about what had happened then out in the open. Giles had called ahead to find out where they were and all too quickly they had arrived at the motel. Once Angel parked they all got out and went over to the door. Once inside they could see it was just a standard motel room with two double beds. It wasn't anything fancy, and it was a tight fit with everyone in the room.

"So no Dawnie?" Willow asked taking notice of who was missing.

"No, she's staying with Spike." Giles said clearly not happy about it either.

"You actually let her stay there with that thing?" Xander said furious that they hadn't dragged Dawn out of there.

"She's happy there. She's safe and well taken care of by Spike. There's no reason to take her away from her home." Angel said with a snap to his voice.

"Except that it;s Spike raising her. Are we really going to let him?" Xander said back.

"It's her choice. I'm not going to take her from a place that she is happy and put her in a place that she isn't. I'm not like you guys." Buffy said with a dead tone, but they could hear the hurt edging it. Buffy went over to the table and leaned against the wall. She didn't want to stay here, but she did need answers. Spike was right about that.

"Buffy we didn't know. We would never have done this if we did." Willow said with regret in her voice.

"Why didn't you check? You're powerful enough to bring the dead back to life, why didn't you check to see where I was?"

"You went into a Hell portal, Buffy. The only place for you to go was to Hell. I didn't need to know what dimension of Hell you were in for the spell to work."

"You still should have checked." Buffy said.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't think you would go to Heaven after how you died. I couldn't just leave you in Hell. I'm sorry, but you're back now with us. That has to count for something right?" Willow said with a small smile.

"What happens now? Are you staying in the house? Should I sell it? What about the gallery?"

"Um the gallery is closed down, but everything is still there to be sold. There might be a debt on it; I'm not sure we didn't pay attention to that. The house is in good standing. We've been using the life insurance payment to cover the mortgage and the bills. Tara and me can still live with you, and we could always find a roommate from the college or something." Willow suggested.

"How would we pay the bills?" Buffy asked.

"Well, your insurance covers everything except for food. Plus if we got a roommate they could pay a portion of the rent to help out." Willow suggested.

Buffy noticed that she left out the part about either her or Tara getting a job.

"How much of the insurance is left?"

"Enough for two more months and then we would have to move and sell the house or figure out another way to pay rent. Tara and me can help out a little with our student loans, but not that much."

"The debt on the gallery is the only thing that wasn't wiped out with declaring you dead. Apparently, there is a limit for the Government. That debt is now on Dawn's shoulders because she is next of kin. Same with the house actually." Anya said.

"And how much is that debt?"

"Well, the outstanding payment on the house is a hundred grand roughly, plus a debt of fifty grand for the gallery. At least it was a few months ago." Anya answered.

"That's great, so Dawn had a hundred and fifty grand in debt, and she's only sixteen. How nice of you all to let that happen. Why didn't you use the money from my insurance to pay off the debt? Why didn't you sell the house and the gallery plus everything in the gallery to get rid of the debt?" Buffy asked annoyed that she would now have to try and figure out how to pay that debt off. Not to mention how to sell the gallery and everything in it to try and bring the debt down.

"Because we needed to use it to help with the mortgage until we were able to bring you back. We didn't want you coming back home with nothing, not even a home." Willow said.

"But it's okay for the fifteen-year-old to have that much debt and no home? I can't believe you guys did this to me, to her. I thought you were my friends, my family. I thought you loved me. How could you do this?" Buffy asked hurt.

"We do love you, and we are your friends." Willow said.

"Buff, I know things are different, but we meant well. You just need to get home and back into your life. You'll be okay, and we can figure this all out later." Xander said.

"I will help you with the bills in figuring out how to pay them and what to make of the gallery. It's been a long few days I think we all should rest tonight and then leave first thing tomorrow morning." Giles said.

"I'm going to head out tonight. I've been gone too long. I need to get back." Angel said.

"Thank-you for coming with us." Tara said warmly.

"I need some fresh air." Buffy said and headed out of the motel room before anyone else could say anything.

Buffy went over to Angel's car and leaned against the passenger side. Buffy didn't know what to do. She didn't want to go back to Sunnydale, especially now that she knows the level of debt that was facing her. She wasn't going to let this be Dawn's debt. She couldn't do that to her. Buffy had never felt so alone before in her life. She needed time to think, and she needed the chance to do it without people hounding her or trying to manipulate her mind. Buffy didn't turn to look as Angel walked out of the motel room. He went over to her and grabbed her bag from the back before he spoke.

"How are you?"

"Upset, annoyed, frustrated. I don't know what to do. I just need to think alone about it."

"I can stay if you want."

"I know, but you need to get back. And I really need some time alone. My head is too full right now."

"Ok. I'm a phone call away Buffy if you ever need me."

"Thanks. Same to you."

They both moved away from the car so that Angel could drive. Buffy grabbed her bag and placed it down outside of the room. She didn't want to go back inside just yet, and it wasn't like someone was going to steal the few clothes in her bag.

"For the record, I think you should stay. All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy. I think you could be happy here. I'll support your decision no matter what."

"Thanks." Buffy said not really sure what else to say to that.

Buffy watched as Angel drove away and once he was gone, she decided she would go for a walk to try and figure out her thoughts and feelings. Buffy didn't know this town at all so she made sure to pay attention to the street signs so she could find her way back. Buffy didn't know what to do about any of this. She didn't want to go back to Sunnydale. She didn't even know if she could handle being in a car with any of her friends for the next two days. She was so angry inside at them, but more than anything she was hurt. She wanted to break down and cry to try and relieve some of the pain burning into her. She wanted to do what Spike said and curl up in bed for the next three weeks and ignore the world.

One thing did stand out to her about what Spike had said. Who was Buffy? For the first fifteen years of her life, she was a happy normal girl. Ever since she found out, she was a Slayer her whole life had changed. She became a Slayer, just a Slayer and that girl who she was died a long time ago. Buffy didn't know who she was outside of being a Slayer and before she could try and balance her normal life with her Slayer life, but it got harder and harder. Buffy really didn't know who she was anymore. She didn't even know if she wanted to be a Slayer anymore. Just the thought of going back out there made it hard to breathe. Buffy wanted to be happy again. She wanted to know who she was outside of being a Slayer. She didn't know what she would do if she weren't a Slayer anymore, but part of her wanted the chance to find out. Buffy knew she didn't want to be away from her sister. She wanted to see her grow up. She wanted to go to tennis matches and see her graduate. She wanted to go horseback riding together and hear all about her first boyfriend. She wanted to be a big sister again, especially when Dawn was no longer at the annoying age. They could be real friends now and share secrets. Buffy had been looking forward to that with her.

The problem was, could she really leave her friends and Slaying behind? Could she walk away from a life that her mother had built for them? The home that her mother had worked so hard to be able to afford and keep them in? Would it be disrespectful if she sold it along with the gallery? Buffy didn't want to disappoint her mother, would quitting being a Slayer disappoint her? Or would it make her happy knowing that she wasn't in danger anymore and trying to be happy? Deep down Buffy knew what she wanted to do, but she didn't know if she had the courage to do it.

Buffy spent the next two hours walking around town. It was a nice town and still busy even at this time of the night. Normally in Sunnydale, most people were off the streets after sunset. It was nice to see so many people not caring about some hidden threat. They were out shopping, going to dinner, having fun. The town was beautiful. Buffy wondered about how the mountains would be like to climb them. Then she wondered what the mall would be like. The one in Sunnydale was small, and it had been a long time since she had been to a real mall. It was a nice town, and everyone seemed so friendly. Buffy didn't even know these people, but they gave her a warm smile as she passed them. It was a larger city with a small town feel to it. Buffy liked it. The lights from the stores only added to the town's beauty. Buffy didn't want to leave here she really didn't. Buffy knew what she had to do. For the first time in her life, she was going to do what she wanted to do. Even if she was still slightly unsure of if it was the right thing to do or not.

Buffy made her way back to the motel. When she got there, she made sure to avoid the motel room. Buffy headed straight for the small office and was glad to see that someone was still there. After asking for a piece of paper, a pen and some tape Buffy went to work on writing a note to her friends. Buffy knew it was a cowardly thing to do, but she was too afraid that if she saw them, they would try and change her mind. Buffy didn't want to deal with the guilt of leaving them or their manipulation. Once her note was finished, just telling them she was staying and didn't want to see them. That she just wasn't ready for any of this. She taped it to the door quietly and grabbed her bag. Buffy jogged down the street so she wouldn't be at risk of them finding her. Once she was a couple of blocks away, Buffy then turned to her next problem, getting back to Dawn. Buffy knew the address, and she asked the first person she saw. With the directions, she headed back to Dawn's home. Buffy didn't know if it would be her home, but maybe it could be. Spike seemed sincere when he offered her a key, a key that was still in her pocket. He said he wanted her to stay and Buffy was hoping he wouldn't change his mind on her. Part of Buffy knew though that he wouldn't. He truly did love him, and even though she didn't feel the same for him, she took comfort in knowing that someone had loved her enough to take care of her sister.

It took Buffy an hour to finally get back to the house. She had been able to follow the directions easily enough. What was amazing is that she had been out for three hours now and she hadn't come across a single demon or vampire. Normally she would have fought a dozen of them by now, and that was a slow night. Buffy found that it was nice to be able to walk around a town at night and not have to worry about fighting some demon or vamp. Buffy knew she had a key, but it didn't feel right to use. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. After a moment the door opened, and Spike stood on the other side. He gave her a warm smile before stepping back and letting her in.

"You do know you have a key right?" Spike said in a teasing voice.

"I know, but it didn't seem right to just barge into your home." Buffy said as she looked down.

"Hey, this is your home too. How did that lot take it?"

"I don't know. I left a note. Cowardly I know, but I just couldn't do it."

"Come on Luv let's sit down. You can tell old Spike all about it." Spike said as he put a gentle hand on the small of Buffy's back and guided her over to the couch.

"Where's Dawnie?"

"She's up in her room finishin' some homework." Spike answered as they sat down. "What happened Luv?"

"They're not sorry. They blew it off like it was nothing. They ripped me out of Heaven, and they just think I'll go right back into a normal routine and everything will be fine. I was in Heaven, and it's like they don't care. Did you know they were using my life insurance for the mortgage and the bills? That money should have gone to Dawnie. It might have helped her to get her own place or maybe for college or something. But instead, they were using it for their own bills and building debt up for Dawnie."

"I'm sorry Luv. They're idiots, the lot of them. What do you mean for her?"

"After I died all of the debt for the Gallery went to Dawnie and the outstanding debt on the house. A hundred and fifty grand from what Anya knows is all on Dawn's shoulders. Once she turns eighteen, they can probably go after her for it. The gallery is still there but closed down. They didn't take care of anything. They didn't even offer to get a job with me going back. They just figured I would pay for everything while they go on with their life and college. Like my life didn't matter as long as I was around to pay the bills and patrol. I've never felt so worthless and unwanted before in my life. And all I can think about is that must be how Dawnie felt being dragged out of her home." Buffy said sadly.

"I'm so sorry Luv. I never wanted you to feel this pain. You deserve so much better than that life. I'm glad you're here. You'll have the chance to heal and have the life you deserve. The life you choose to have and not one dictated to you."

"I don't even know what that is. I don't know what to do about any of this, the debt, the house, the gallery. I need to find a job to pay off the debt and who knows how many years that will take." Buffy said sounding stressed.

"I'll take care of the debt Luv. Don't worry about it. That money is nothing to me. As for the house, we can sell it. I can make a call, and the whole place can be packed up, shipped and sold within a week if you want. Same as the gallery. You don't have to worry about a job right now, and you never have to worry about money."

"That's your money."

"No, it's the household money. I'm not that old-fashioned Luv. Dawn has her own account that I make sure has ten grand in it a month. We have millions, and that goes up each month with my salary, jobs for the firm and I play in a few poker tournaments to help with the boredom of my life. Money is never an issue. I take care of mine Luv, and that is you and the Bit. I don't want you worryin' about money or findin' work. If you want to work, then work, but you don't have to."

"Will you tell me the truth if I ask you something?"

"Always Luv."

"Do you think Mom is disappointed that I'm not going back? Do you think she would be disappointed if I sold the house and the gallery?" Spike could hear the worry and fear in her voice, and he could understand that. It would be hard for Buffy to give it all up and not feel some guilt about it.

"Your Mum and I used to talk all the time. When she thought she was dyin' in the hospital, she told me her greatest fear was that you and the Bit would never truly be happy, especially you. She said that if she got one wish, she wouldn't wish for her to be healthy and alive, she would wish that you could have any life that you wanted. That you would be happy. I don't think she would be disappointed for you stayin'. I think she would be if you left and went back to a life that made you miserable and alone. What you did tonight Luv took courage. I think she would be proud of you for it. I know I am."

A single tear rolled down Buffy's cheek, and Spike pulled Buffy into a hug. Buffy didn't even fight she just curled up into Spike's chest and enjoyed the feeling of being held.

"What do I do now?" Buffy asked feeling lost.

"Whatever you want to do Luv. Leave the rest of the stress to me I'll handle it. Tonight you just sleep, and tomorrow you and the Bit can do whatever you want together."

"She has school, though."

"She can play hooky tomorrow. She has a tennis match tomorrow night at five. You can come with us and see her in action. She's pretty impressive."

"I'd like that. I feel like I don't really know her anymore."

"You know her. She just has a different life now, but she will tell you all about it tomorrow. She will talk until your head explodes."

"Looking forward to it."

Spike kissed the top of Buffy's head before he spoke. "Come on Luv I'll show you your room and the Bit will be thrilled to see you back."

Buffy pulled back and spoke before standing. "Thank-you again for everything."

"Nothin' to thank Luv." Spike said not really sure how he felt about all of the appreciation.

They got up, and Spike picked up Buffy's bag, and they headed up the stairs.

"Bit come out please." Spike said as they got up the stairs.

Dawn opened her door and was shocked to see Buffy back here. She had hoped that she would see her again, but she didn't actually think Buffy would make the decision to stay and not go back to her duties. Dawn gave Buffy a huge smile and ran over to give her a hug. Buffy instantly felt like she had made the right choice. Being here with Dawn was where she belonged. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she would figure it out.

"I'm so glad you're here." Dawn said.

"Me too."

"Bit, why don't you show big sis her room. Tomorrow you can take tomorrow off school to hang out."

Dawn pulled back as she spoke. "Awesome we could go exploring or shopping. Or we could just hang out here watching movies."

"Ya maybe. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. Right now mostly tired." Buffy said with a small smile.

"For sure. Your room is right over here," Dawn said as she led Buffy over to her new room. Spike followed but stayed outside of the room.

Buffy walked in and was happy to see that it was a nice room. The walls were white and plain, but if she felt like it, she could make it her own. There was a queen size bed only in the room, but it was large enough for a dresser, dressing table, a couch and even a small coffee table if she wanted. There was a large double door balcony that Buffy was falling in love with. It had enough room that she could have a nice little patio set out here. The view looked amazing too. She could see the mountains off in the distant and Buffy never wanted to forget this view.

"It's a pretty amazing view I know. I was going to take this room, but the other one had a view of the city lights." Dawn said.

"It's beautiful."

"Do whatever you want with it Luv. It's your home too." Spike said as he pulled out his wallet and took out a credit card and held it over to Dawn. "In case you decide to go shopping tomorrow. I have a class for nine, and I'll be there until three. If you are both still out let me know and I'll meet you at your match."

Shopping fun. Did you get your work done?" Dawn asked as she took the card.

"I did. You?"

"You bet."

"Good. I got a few calls to make and then get some sleep. If you need me Luv, I'm just down the hall."

Buffy just gave a nod and Spike headed back down to the kitchen to take care of a few things. Dawn gave Buffy a warm smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Numb mostly right now. Think I just need some sleep."

"Of course ya. I'll let you get settled in and get some sleep. If you need me, you know where my room is."

"Thanks, Dawnie. I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Dawn headed out of the room and closed the door behind her. Buffy sat down on her new bed and placed her bag down beside her. Buffy didn't know what to do at the moment, but she did feel better knowing that she was here and not with her friends at that motel. Buffy didn't know what tomorrow would be like or bring, but for tonight she was just going to enjoy the view from her bed. Maybe she would be able to sleep without feeling like she is in a box.

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Spike headed down the stairs to the kitchen. He had finished his marking, and he had everything ready for class tomorrow. He wanted to take the time to call Lilah and speak to her about Buffy. Spike was taking into consideration what Angel said, but the problem was, Lilah hadn't done anything to Spike or Dawn since he went to her. She could have sold his location off for millions, but she didn't. She's done nothing but helped them, and Spike wasn't about to turn down help. Spike pulled out his cell phone and stepped outside into the warm night air. It was a little late, but Spike figured that if she didn't answer, he could leave a message. Spike hadn't called Lilah before because he had no need to. When he had a job, Lilah just called him with the information. After three rings Lilah answered.

"Lilah Morgan."

"It's Spike. Got a bit of a situation down here."

"Are you no longer safe?" Lilah immediately asked.

"No, we're safe. You know the Slayer was dead." Spike stated as he had come to discover that Lilah pretty much knew about everything that went on in the world.

"Thirteen months ago closing a Hell portal that was opened by a Hell Goddess. What about her?"

"She's back. The redheaded witch did a spell three days ago and brought her back to life. Tore her out of Heaven. She's here with me and the Bit now."

"Wow, that's impressive magic and very stupid magic. We would never even bring a human back from the dead. Some lines are not meant to be crossed. Not to mention the consequences."

"And what would those be?" Spike asked knowing that there would be some consequence for this. Magic was never free.

"Off the top of my head, I don't know. I'll have to make a call to have the magic lab look into it. This isn't something that has happened before, at least to my knowledge. It might take until morning to get that to you, though."

"That's fine, just looking for the heads up right now on that. She seems okay for someone that was ripped out of Heaven by her friends only to find out they let her kid sister be taken away. I don't think this has hit her fully yet."

"And it will soon, and when it does, it's going to be devastating to her. She's in a unique situation. The firm does have some therapists that deal with demonic clients and family of them. We have a couple in your area. I can send their information to you, and maybe she'll speak with someone. They would know that she is a Slayer and the life she's lived. It might not be a bad idea for her to get it all out to someone. Someone with the experience to help her through it."

"I'd appreciate that Pet."

"I'll have it sent right over to you. Is there anything else you need?" Lilah asked looking to be helpful.

"She has a house in Sunnydale. The two witches are livin' in it. I need them and their stuff out, the rest of it packed up and sent here and the house sold. There's also two accounts I need to pay off, the rest of the mortgage is one and the outstanding debt on the gallery her Mum used to own."

"I'll have someone sent to the house tomorrow to start packing it up. Send me the information for the accounts and I will have them paid out of your account for you. What do you want with the gallery?"

"I'm thinkin' of payin' off the debt and keepin' it. There are paintings still in it to be sold. I just need to find someone to run it, and it can make her some money. She doesn't have to work, but she won't be able to stand still for too long. This way she can feel like she is contributin' in some way."

"I can have a company go over to the gallery and asset the current situation on it. I'm in contact with numerous Head Hunters that can find someone to manage the gallery for you should it be worth the time and money to be put into it."

"Appreciate it."

"It's what I do. Now, for what you do. I need you Saturday night back in Paris. You would leave Friday night and fly back Sunday afternoon. It's for security at a large black tie event. All are humans, but they have made some waves in the demon world by trying to help bring rights to innocent Clans. If Buffy is feeling up to it, she could go as well and be paid your salary for it. The chances of either of you having to fight are slim, but maybe getting her back in a controlled environment would help her to move on. The choice is yours and hers, but the offer is there should she want it."

"I'll mention it to her tomorrow. What time is the flight?"

"Seven, I know Dawn has a tennis match, you'll have plenty of time if you bring her with you."

"I'll see what the girls want to do. Send me the information, and I'll be there."

"I've already texted you the information. I'll be in touch once I have something for you."

"Ta Pet."

Spike ended the call and let out a sigh. He didn't really want to go away for work this weekend, but it would be hard to say no. He would be getting paid ten grand for this job, and he couldn't exactly say no to this. Spike knew he should be telling Buffy about the offer, but she wasn't ready to be doing anything in the field, even something as simple as a black tie event for security. It would be better for Buffy to spend the weekend with Dawn alone to reconnect and relax together. Next month Spike could mention it to Buffy when the next job came up. With his tasks, all done Spike headed back inside and up to his bedroom so he could get some sleep. He had classes all day tomorrow, and tomorrow night he would need to be working for the weekend. Spike needed sleep, and he had no idea how well Buffy would be sleeping tonight. He was going to get what sleep he could just in case either of his girls needed him tonight.


End file.
